Forum helps former inmates rebuild lives1
BY COURTNEY GA1LLARD
THE CHRONICLE
As Bernard Walker walked
out of prison six years ago
with $100, a bag of his clothes
and a bus ticket, he was sure
that the prison guards were
betting on his return as he
passed through the front gate
to freedom. Whether it was six
days, six weeks or six months,
the guards were convinced
Walker would be back in jail.
"The (prison) guards right
now are losing money because
they're betting that 1 will
come back to prison, but guess
what? I'm here," said Rev.
Walker of Carver Road Christ
ian Church, who was the guest
speaker at Experiment in Self
Reliance's Inmate Re-entry
Forum on Tuesday evening.
"The only way that you
can beat the system is to stay
out of the system," Walker
said.
Walker shared his Success
story, filled with trials and
tribulations, of how he accli
mated himself back into socie
ty after having been incarcer
ated. After graduating from an
ESR program. Walker went on
to graduate from Winston
Salem Bible College.
"People did not want to
hire me because I had a
felony, not only a felony but a
federal record for armed bank
robbery. Can you imagine
going into an employer's
office and sitting down in
front of him and telling him
you want to work at his corpo
ration and he looks at your
record and sees thai you were
in prison for armed bank rob
bery?" asked Walker. "He did
not see the goals I set for my
life....All he saw was a man
sitting before him with a
record that was detrimental to
his life."
Walker candidly spoke of
the banks he and several other
men robbed in Winston-Salem
and Greensboro as well as the
teller he shot in the leg during
one of the robberies. After
fleeing the state ahd running
from the law for a period of
time. Walker was arrested and
charged with two counts of
armed robbery. He was sen
tenced to 38 years in a maxi
mum-security federal peniten
tiary. After serving eight
years. Walker was released on
parole.
"I am not anti-prison. I
believe that the prison system
is needed. I believe that the
court system is needed. I
believe that the judicial sys
tem is needed. It is imperative
A A A 1 ^<'r' A .
to have those things in place.
But I do thank God. that it was
in prison that I realized that I
had a better life to live," Walk
er said.
After Walker's remarks,
workshops were held with
brigf instruction on job inter
viewing, legal issues and
establishing credit for individ
uals with criminal histories.
Several agencies also attended
as part of the Inmate Re-entry
Marketplace, where brochures
and information were avail
able in booths for attendees.
The Inmate Re-entry' Forum
was made possible thanks to
an ECHO Grant from The
Winston-Salem Foundation.
ESR is a United Way
agency that strives to elimi
nate poverty and homelessness
through education, advocacy
and building economic and
social capital. ESR also man
ages four transitional housing
shelters throughout Winston
Salem.
Twana Wellman, executive
director of ESR. said that the
idea for the Inmate Re-entry
Forum developed as a result of
community need and desire to
address the issue. Out of the
700 clients that ESR served
* - a ,
last year, onc^Third had crimi
nal records, including felonies
and misdemeanors of various
degrees, which prohibited
many of them from purchasing
homes, obtaining jobs and
rebuilding credit. Wellman
said.
"Our purpose in bringing
(Rev. Walker) to the table is
for people to know that you
can overcome. Just because
you skinned your knee, just
because you bumped your
head and just because you got'
arrested - you can recover and
you can regroup, but it
depends on your mind-set."
Wellman said.
The Inmate Re-entry
Forum was the fifth install
ment of ESR community
forums that in the past focused
on affordable housing, vocd
tional education, employment
and health care for the metl-'
ically uninsured.
ESR will hold a speciit
Individual Development
Account 11 DA) graduation <~n~
Monday at ft p.m. The event
will he held at the FWCA on;
Glade Street. The guest speak-'
er will be state Rep. Larry
Wamble.
. AjJfcLIZ :
The Rev. Bernard Walker says he is proof that not all former inmates are doomed to end
in jails and prisons once they are released. Walker was released six years ago.
Photos by Courtney Gaillard
ESR Executive Director Twana Wellman welcomes partici
pants Tuesday evening at Quality Education Institute.
Sales Tax Holiday
coming this weekend
BY PAUL COLLINS
THE CHRONICLE
At a lime when many peo
ple are shopping for school
supplies and back-to-school
clothes. North Carolina will
have a Sales Tax Holiday this
weekend.
According to the N.C.
Department of Revenue Web
site, G.S. 105-164.13C pro
vides an exemption for certain
items of tangible personal
property sold between 12:01
a.m. on the first Friday in
August and |l:59 p.m. the fol
lowing Sunday. For 2002, the
dates are Friday, Aug. 2,
through Sunday, Aug. 4. Cloth
ing. footwear, and school sup
plies of $100 or less per item;
sports and recreation equip
ment of $50 or less per item;
and computers, printers, printer
supplies, and educational soft
ware of $3,500 or less per item
will be exempt.
Clothing accessories, jew
elry, cosmetics, protective
equipment, wallets, furniture,
layaway transactions, items
used in a trade or business, and
rentals are not covered by the
exemption and will be subject
to the applicable tax.
Computers, printers, printer
supplies, and educational soft
ware sold during the holiday
period with a sales price of
$1,000 or more per item must
be documented by means of
Form E-599H, North Carolina
Sales Tax Holiday Exemption
Certificate, or other evidence to
establish the exemption. The
vendor must maintain the docu
mentation.
According to a spokesman
for the local Department of
Revenue office, the Sales Tax
Holiday applies to both the 4
1/2 cent state sales tax and the
county 2 cent sales tax.
For more information, go to
the N.C. Department of Rev
enue's Web site at
www.dor.state.nc.us and click
on "hot topics."
K I
File Photo
The state is letting residents hold onto more of their money
this weekend when a Sales Tax Holiday goes into effect.
School
from pane A1
Members of the Black Lead
ership Roundtable and the Min
isters Conference of Winston
Salem were on hand to hear the
board's decision. The Round
table, excited about the promise
of a new school in the African
American community, had
actively campaigned for the
bonds. The group had also been
critical once news of the alterna
tive site came to light.
Norma Corley, the interim
chairperson of the Roundtable's
Education Committee, said she
is happy that the school system
is acquiring land at both sites.
Although Corley wants the
school built on Old Greensboro
Road, she has never denied that
the southeastern site was a good
place to put a school
"I had wondered why it had
to be either or," she said, refer
ring to the school system's desire
to choose one site over the other.
Corley said she was pleas
antly surprised by the vote, but
she added that she and others
will continue to monitor the
project.
"This, to me, is like phase
one," she said. "We have to
make sure it is executed. We
can't let up because this vote has
taken place."
School Board member Gene
va Brown said several weeks ago
that she was fearful that the
board would not keep its word to
build a school in East Winston.
She said it took a lot of explain
ing and educating to get the rest
of the board to agree to build the
school at the original site. Brown
said the School Board, which
has had an endless list of con
(Jlcts with the black community
over the last 30 years, made a
giant leap forward by keeping its
word.
"They talk a lot about trust.
They talk a lot about promises.
Tonight. I think they really came
through with it," Brown said.
Board member Victor John
son said he doesn't believe the
school system will have a diffi
cult time getting the extra
acreage at the Greensboro Road
site. Officials will immediately
start the push to get the needed
land. Johnson said, so that con
struction can begin by the end of
the year. The school is scheduled
to open in 2004.
Johnson said the school sys
tem will also continue to push
the city for land adjacent to the
site that has been tied up in an
option for several years. The
land in dispute is being touted as
a site for a seniors facility.
Johnson says a seniors facili
ty would not be the best neigh
bor for the high school because
of the noise and traffic.
"I don't understand why they
would hold up land that is need
ed for this school." Johnson said
of city officials.
For many past Winston
blacks the fight is not over yet.
Next month, the School Board
will consider names for the new
East Winston high school. Many
alumni of Atkins High School
want the school named for their
alma mater. Atkins High School
was shut down in the 1970s to
accommodate integration
changes. The school was later
reopened as a middle school.
The school system wants at least 50 acres off Old Greens
boro Road before beginning to build the school.
||S^Black Business Street Festival|\oS
* ^gthe% T\
* H(iS1W^ALEM BLACX CHAMBERCf i I
4 tA * ;
I ^"gthe^ ? ? |
, Historical Winston-Salem Trivia Contest ? 1
, ?
[1. What church appears to be the oldest surviving Black church in Winston Salem'? j ,
a i Answer: i -4C !
1 1 i>
a '2. What B. F. Goodrich franchise in 1970 became the first African American major tire 1 f
i dealer in the country? i *
a ! Answer: !
.
. ,3. What Black-owned-and-operated transportation company was purchased in the early , *
1970s by the City of Winston-Salem? j *'
a i Answer: i ?
i i .
? i4: What were the three African American owned theatres in Winston-Salem? i f
Answer: 1 ????--:?
* ! ! *
i5. What Black dry cleaners operated in Winston-Salem during the 1940s from a i f
a J partnership between Cornelius R. Williams and Charles T. Martin? J
i Answer:. 1 *
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* 1 *
hnter to w in weekly.
* i Winners will be recognized September 21st: *
a i Read Toe Chronicle for more information. ? ?
I I v
i Answer all five "Historical Winston-Salem Black Business" Trivia Questions, i *
* [ It's easy .. . find the answers in this issue . . . just look for advertisements [ *
with the Winston-Salem Black Chamber of Commerce logo. J ^
J Deadline to receive entries is Tuesday of each week. Winners are selected [ ?
*. j randomly from total entries received weekly. [ *
i i ??
I I M
tf i Send complete entry to: i *
Historical W-S Black Business Trivia Contest
* ! Thk Chronicle
t ! P.O. Box 1636, Winston-Salem. NC 27102 ! *
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* [Name: _Phone: ^ ! *
* [Address: ? [ *
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