11 Parks-related events Gordon Park% "At the Poverty Board," 1967 FROM, STAFF REPORTS The Soulheastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) is gearing up for one of its most eagerly anticipated exhibits ever. "Half Past Autumn: The Art of Gordon i Parks" will kick off tomorrow with an opening reception at SECCA. located off Reynolda Road, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Parks. no.w 88. was scheduled to make an appearance at the ' reception but SECCA officials now say that Parks cannot trav el on the advice of doctors. The reception is free and open to the public. Those who cannot make the reception can catch the exhibit, which will feature some of Parks' most memorable photographs from over the last half-century, from Oct. 20 through Jan. 13. Several screenings of Parks' films will also be held in . conjunction with the exhibit. "The Learning Tree," Parks' coming-of-age elassic that was the first major Hollywood film headed by a black director, will be screened at The Arts Coun cil Theatre. 610 Coliseum Drive, on Saturday at 2 p.m. General admission is.$9; the cost for students and seniors is $7. Dale Pollock, the dean of the fdm school at N.C. School of the Arts, will lead a dialogue uhoul the film after it is shown. ? On Oct. 25 at the NCSA School of Filmmaking, Parks' movie "Shaft" w ill be screened at 7:30 p.m. and at 3 p.m. on Oct. 28. Admission is $5 for students and $7 for the general public. ? "Leadbelly." Parks biopic of legendary bluesman Huddie Ledbetter. will be shown Nov. I at 7:30 p.m. and on Nov. 4 at 3 p.m. The movie will be shown in SECCA's McChes ney Scott Dunn Auditorium. Admission for students and seniors is $5: admission for the general public is $7. ? On Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. and on Nov. 18 at 3 p.m.. "Solomon Northup's Odyssey" will be shown at SECCA. Made for PBS. the film tells the true story of a black man born free and living with his family in Upstate New York. The same admission prices apply, Parks i Victims of violence speak out j against capital punishment : The state leg of the Journey of Hope tour will wrap up at a mass anti-death-penalty rally in Raleigh this weekend BY I KhVIN WALKER ! THE CHRONICLE After his grandmother was ! savagely murdered in the mid ; '80s. Bill Pelke never thought that ? he'd he an opponent of capital ? punishment, let alone leading a ! worldwide effort to halt the pun ; ishment. But as co-founder and presi I dent of Journey of Hope, that is I exactly what he is doing these ; days. Like Pelke. others involved with Journey of Hope have been directly affected by violence but ; have transformed their initial out ? rage into a strong passion to do away with capital punishment. ! The program has made stops at | colleges, churches, rallies and ' town meetings throughout the '? United States and several coun | tries in Europe. ; Tuesday night. Journey of ? Hope came to Wake Forest Uni ; versity as part of a statewide tour ; sponsored by the Carrboro-based ? People of Faith Against the Death Penalty. Richard Groves, the pas- ( J tor of Wake Forest Baptist ; Church, was instrumental in start ? ing a local chapter of the group last year. "Wedo not have to kilL.When the state kills, they kill in my name and they kill in your name," said Pelke. who once enthusiastically supported the death sentence given to a 15-year old girl who stabbed his grand mother to death. The Gary. Ind.. case gained national and interna tional headlines at the time because the girl was one of the youngest females on death row ever. Pelke remembers the day he changed his mind about capital punishment. It was Nov. 2, 1986, after Pelke said he felt that his grandmother, who was a very reli gious woman, spoke to him. The next day. he began corresponding with his grandmother's killer. His change of heart gained wide spread media attention and he eventually found himself in Italy, where support against the death penalty is especially high. Indignation from Italians and the Pope led to the girl's sentence being changed to a 6(>-year jail term. But Pelke decided that his fight was not over. He purchased an old bus. which he named "Abolitionist Movement." and set out to speak to the nation about the inequity of capital punish ment. "There are no rich people on death row. They are poor," Pelke said, pointing out one of what he says are many troubling issues with the punishment. Pelke believes that he was driven to support the punishment at first by the rage he felt over his grandmother's death. He says he thinks that is the case with many people who have lost loved ones to violence. "A lot of people want the death penalty as a way for revenge," he said, "but there's no healing in that." Journey speakers vary from location to location. Regular speakers include a man who lost his daughter in the Oklahoma City bombing. Tuesday, Pelke was joined by George White, who was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife nearly 20 years ago in Alabama - even though the assailant, who has never been apprehended, shot White several times as well. Prosecutors wanted the death penalty in White's case, but a judge sentenced him to life in prison instead. Before his ordeal. White said he had never really weighed the death penalty one way or the other. "I knew there was a death penalty, but it was somewhere out there," motioning with his hands. "It wasn't really real to me." White said his strong faith in God has made him a death penal ty abolitionist. He admits that once he detested the prosecutors who put him behind bars and the man who killed his wife and shot him several times. White says he has moved past those feelings now. "I absoRitely oppose the death penalty for every reason and in every instance." White said. "I believe in holding people respon sible. but that's not the issue." The state tour for Journey of Hope will wrap up Saturday in Raleigh at a convention for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. People of Faith Against the Death Penalty and other abolition ist groups have been encouraged by the passage of several morato rium resolutions by local govern ments in the state, including one passed by the Winston-Salem Board of Aldermen last year. But Andie Wigodsky of Peo ple of Faith Against the Death Penalty says the frustration comes from the fact that people are still being put to death even though people arc talking more than ever about issues related to capital pun ishment. such as class and racism. "All of these different issues are heing talked about, hut we tire still executing people." she said. "We need to stop executions and talk about these issues. ? Photo by Kevin Walker 'B/// Pelke, holding the microphone, answers a question from an audience member as George White stands by him. The Chronicle has new e-mail addresses The Chronicle has new e mail addresses. Press releases, news items, letters and columns can be sent to news@wschronicle.com. News items and other informa tion can also be sent directly to T. Kevin Walker. The Chroni cle's managing editor, at kwalker@wschronide.com or to Paul Collins. The Chroni cle's copy editor. at pcyllinsC"?wschronicle.com A general mailbox is currently being developed for the adver tising department. In the meantime, ads and information regarding advertising can be sent to the advertising director, Fannie Henderson, at fhender son@wschronicle.com. The Chronicle's old e-mail address yvill continue to be operational for a few more weeks, but the staff is advising that readers and advertisers use the new addresses. Winnie Mandela to appear in court for fraud and theft I III \ss