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. rORSYTH CNTY PU3 - tr Vol. XXVIII No. 4V
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\WINSTON SALEM Mr ? w -r?
I>eigliu0ia
converge
for annual
night out
BY COL RTNEY GA1LLARD
THE CHRONICLE
Residents across Winston-Salem
spent Tuesday evening outside with
neighbors and police as part of the
National Night Out for crime and drug
prevention. The annual event, spon
sored by the National Association of
Town ? i? ?? M mm i
waicnes.
was the
city's
19th year
partici
pating in
National
Night
Out.
A n
estimat
ed 33
million
people
around
t h e
country
partici
pated in
"Ameri
"
PhiHo by Courtney Gaillard
Capt. Homer Craig has a
laugh with Lenora Wash
ington Tuesday evening.
V. '1 s
Night Out Against Crime." which is
also intended to generate support for
local anti-crime efforts, strengthen
neighborhood spirit and police/commu
nity partnerships as well as send a mes
sage to criminals that neighborhoods
are organized and fighting back.
The day began with Mayor Allen
Joines presenting a proclamation on
behalf of the city along with Police
Chief Linda Davis at the Public Safety
Sei Night Out on A9
Children
struggling
to learn
have new
resource
BV^PAUL COLLINS
THE CHRONICLE -?
I' The National Association for the Edu- I
Cation of African American Children With i
Learning Disabilities has released a hand
book. available free of charge, to enipow -
er Atrican
American
parents to
become
advocates
for their
children and
to improve
the quality
of education
for all chil
dren by rais
ing the level
of aware
ness about
learning dif
ferences.
The
handbook.
"One Child
at a
Time... A
I ile Ph<?t.>
Since the 1960s, many
African-American chil
dren have been identified
as learning disabled.
a
Parent Handbook and Resource Directory'
for African American Families With Chil
dren Who Leam Differently." focuses on
the Individuals and Disabilities F.ducalion
Act (IDEA), a federal law that entitles all
eligible school-aged children and youths
with disabilities to receive a "free appro
Si < Book mi A10
Photos b> Bruce Chapman
Members of The Class That Never Was celebrate after becoming /yThe Class That Is."
18 Again
Victims of integration rewrite history with mock graduation
BY T. KEVIN WALKEft
THE CHRONICLE
The Rev. Ronald Low
ery took pictures ot his 5
year-old grandson Saturday
on the storied concrete steps
of the former Atkins High
School. With his wife and
daughter looking on. Low
ery snapped away as the
young boy playfully posed.
Lpwery knows the steps
well. He attended Atkins
years ago when it was the
premier black high school in
these parts.
There was a time - long
before Lowery had a grand
son. a daughter or even a
wife - that he dreamed that,
someday, his children would
walk the school's hallowed
halls and learn the three R's
from Atkins' esteemed staff,
a time when he thought they
would wear maroon gowns
and gold tassels to receive
diplomas from "The Big A."
Those dreams died fast
one day in the summer of
1971. Lowery. on summer
vacation and anxiously
awaiting his return to his
beloved Atkins for his sen
ior year, received a letter
from the school system
informing him that Atkins
would cease being a high
school and he and his class
mates would be reassigned
for their senior years.
"What was to be the
most exciting times of our
lives turned into pain and
devastation." Lowery
recalled.
Atkins High, which
graduated countless
lawyers, doctors, teachers,
politicians and even a presi
r . .
dential cabinet member dur
ing its 40 years of existence,
was a victim of court
ordered integ'a'ion.
The Atkins Class of
1971 was the last to wear
the school's signature-col
ored caps and gowns, to
hear the familiar bars of
"Pomp and Circumstance"
being played from an organ
in the school's auditorium.
That was until Saturday,
when Lowery and other
members of the Class of
1972, a class that had
painfully dubbed itself The
Class That Never Was, took
part in a mock graduation
complete with all the trim
mings. including honorary
diplomas notarized by the
school system.
The mock graduation
was the highlight of a three
day reunion for the class.
Members of the class actual
ly graduated from different
schools throughout the sys
tem. where they had brand
new teachers and mostly
new classmates.
"We did not get a
chance to say goodbye to
our friends. I didn't get to
say goodbye to my teachers.
I needed some closure." said
Pamela Gray Harper, who
started organizing the
Sti Atkins on A11
An unidentified graduate celebrates after picking
up his honorary Atkins diploma Saturday.
Winston
LakeY
Q
finds new
director
a
BV T KEVIN WALKER
THE OWONICLE
Cynthia Jeffries officially took over the
reins at the Winston Lake Family YMCA
only yesterday, but already she has big plans
and hurdles she wants to clear.
Jeffries' ideas ran the gamut, from plans
to try new ways to increase membership at
the 40-year-old Y. to looking into the possi
bility of utilizing Winston Lake more, possi
bly for canoeing.
under
stand the
potential
this Y rep
resents."
Jeffries
said Mon
day. "East
Winston
has a
wealth of
opportu
nities. We
often- L
times look |j
at the neg- I
ative hut I
we have a '
lot of
assets
here."
J e f -
Photo by Kevin Walker
Cynthia Jeffries has high
hopes for the YMCA.
fries counts the low traffic volume in East
Winston and the high number of churches as
some of the area's assets. The Winston Lake
Y has been serving East Winston for nearly
a century. Although its location and its name
have changed over that time, it has remained
the only YMCA branch in the city that
serves the African-American community.
Jeffries, whose first job ever was work
ing as a lifeguard at the Kimberley Park
swimming pool when she was a young girl,
remembers going to the Y when it was on
Patterson Avenue. She has followed the
facility's progression closely over the years.
Bom in Richmond. Jeffries has spent
most of her life here. She moved to Winston
Salem at an early age after her father landed
a job as a football coach at Atkins High
School. A graduate of Wellesley College and
Columbia University, where she received 4
her MBA. Jeffries most recently served as
the director of community building for the
United Way of Forsyth County. She worked
at SMSI. a local minority-owned marketing
company, before going to the United Way.
"My experiences have prepared me to
run and provide a benefit to this organiza
tion," said Jeffries, who vows to put her
j strong background in marketing, fund rais
ing and financial management to good use.
Tom Looby, the new president and CEO
Si i Jeffries on A9
Rules or Engagement
Some black parents feel it's a matter of life and death to
train teenage sons on how to act with law enforcement
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
1HL CHRONICLE *
For many African-American parents.,
preventing their young sons from
becoming the next Rodney King. Dono
van Jackson or Amadou Diallo is much
more than a casual concern.
With every new allegation of police
misconduct or rough-housing, it seems
that more and more blacks are develop
' ing rules of engagement for their chil
dren. especially their sons, to use w hen
ever they encounter the cops.
The Rev. Carlton Eversley. pastor of
Dellabrook Presbyterian Church and a
community activist, said a black male
college professor first made htm aware
of these unw ritten rules.
"He said. If you find yourself in a
line of pursuit sihth pojiye. the best posi
tion to be in is in your underwear and
prone."
While that advice may be impracti
cal. it drives home the apprehension and
outright fear that many blacks have about
law enforcement officers. National poll
after national poll reveal that African
Americans have a much less favorable
opinion of law
V. 11 1 \? 1 V V 111 V 11 ?
thai) whites, feel
ings accented by
allegations of
cover-ups and
corruption that
began festering
decades ago.
Recent histo
ry has not helped
to ^improve
things The
videotaped beat
Norris
ings or KtKinev Mng anu teenager
Jonathan Jackson by Los Angeles area
police as well as the brutal assault of
Abner Louinia and the fatal shooting of
Amadou Diallo by New York City police
have been embedded in the minds of
most blacks. Reports also abound of inci
dents of DWB (driving while black), the
term blacks have coined for the act of
being stopped by officers simply for hav
ing black skin.
The shooting of J.ussie Grooms July
27 by a Winston-Salem police officer
and the incident involving two Forsyth
County sheriff's deputies and a black
motorist last August have brought the
issue closer to home than ever. But black
parents li^e Eversley say they have
already prepared their children.
"Tliere is a need to educate our black
males as to how to interact w ith cops,"
5<v Rules on A4
File Photo f
Recent incidents indicate that blacks and blue lights don't mix.
The Choice for African-American News and Information