Mt. Zion honors more than 50 local Christian women
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Nearly 400 people packed the
banquet hall at Mt. Zion Baptist
Church Saturday for the church's
first-ever Women's Day Awards
Luncheon.
. A church committee began
making plans last May to honor
local women who have made
uidelible marks in fields such as
religious and community service
and business. The result of the
committee's months of hard work
and planning was the noon lunch
eon, where 54 women were hon
ored. Some of the women are
well-known but most are unsung
heroines.
"There are so many women in
our city who deserve this honor,
but yotr had to start somewhere,"
said Annie R. Hairston. chair
woman of the Women's Day com
mittee. Hairston said the commit
tee came up with a list of more
than 100 local "Christian women
with a mission." The list was
dwindled down to nearly half. But
organizers say that if a similar
awards ceremony "is held next
year, they already have a built-in
list of potential honorees.
Hairston is the president and
curator of Pan African Imagery, an
African art business. The commit
tee selected her as one of the hon
orees for her work in the business
world.
Many of the honorees are
members of Mt. Zion. But the
committee also looked outside of
the church
for strong
women.
The result
I is a list of
? diverse
honorees
that
j included
J Alder
J women
Vivian
Burke and
Hairs ton
Joycelyn Johnson. R.J. Reynolds
executive Janet Wheeler and
singer Janice Price Hinton.
The committee also honored
two young women as a way to
show that excellence comes in all
forms.
Tashekia Davis was one of the
youth honorees. . < ?
"My reaction was5'that I have
not done anything to be honored,
but I guess I have," said Davis, a
UNC-Greensboro senior and an
active Mt. Zion member. "Some
body saw something in me thai I
did not see."
The committee cited Davis'
devotion to her church and others.
In between studies, Davis finds
time to direct the church's chil
dren's choir and take part in the
prison ministry.
Jeannette Lewis was honored
for her work with the National
Women of Achievement (Lewis is
the Southeast regional director)
and with local young people.
"This honor really means a lot
to me because a lot of times you
do a lot in the community and it
goes unnoticed," Lewis said. "It is
just an honor to be honored. I will
long remember this day."
Evelyn Sanders, co-chair of
the Women's Day committee, was
also one of the honorees. She was
lauded for her work with the
National Pan-Hellenic Council.
Sanders said when it comes to
strong, committed Christian
women, Winston-Salem is in good
hands.
"These women set an example
and have shown that all things are
possible," Sanders said.
The other women honored
were: Maya Angelou. Carrie Bur
nett. Daisy Chambers, Lovie
Cooper, Helen Wilson Falls, Betty
Gregg. Jerrye Griffin, Joyce Hash.
Burthel Hoffler, Myrtle Harper
Jones, Sarah Mendez, Mildred
Peppers. Helen Graham Peters.
Inez S. Shaw, Daisy B Staten,
Rev. Juanita Tatum. Gwen
Thompson.' Pol he G Bailey.
Christine Cropps, Denise S. Harts
field, Verdell Hayes, Annie Brown
Kennedy, Juanita B. Penn, Dr.
Barbara Phillips, Marilyn
Richards. Loufte Smith, Cleopatra
Solomon, Sylvia Sprinkle-Ham
lin. Wanda Starke, Evelyn Terry,
Tawana Wellman, Ella Whit
worth. Evelyn Aeree. Mose Bel
ton-Brown, Brenda Diggs, Sandra
Miller Jones. Eariine Sutton, Clara
Owens Cloud. Velma H. Friende,
Addie Hymes. Dr. Constance
Johnson, Dr. Felecia P. McMillan,
Dr. Dolly McPherson, Vera Stepp,
Dr. Marie Williamson and
Francheria Burrell.
Photo by Kevin Walker
Janice Price Hinton was one of the 54 women honored for their Christian service over the
weekend at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Above, she performs at the awards luncheon.
'Corapeake'
from page AI
not so much the differences."
The multimedia exhibit
features Messick's black-and
white photographs accompa
nied by a soundtrack of origi
nal music composed for the
project by blues artist John
Hammond. Scenes from the
town and its people and quota
tions from the folks are inter
spersed with collages of pho
tographs, old newspaper clip
pings and Messick's handwrit
ten notes. The film adaptation
of the exhibit, recently named
best documentary at the Cine
vue Film Festival in Florida,
is also being shown.
The multimedia exhibit
has 43 pieces.
"Gladiolas," for example
is a photograph of two older
women dressed in their Sun
day best and holding gladio
las. A quotation from Sarah
Eure next to the photo says:
"The older people used to
scare me 'cause they'd say.
My eyes jumpin'; some
body's gonna die.' And it
seemed to me every time my
eyes jumped, somebody
; would."
< "Effie Mae Testifying" is a
photograph of a white-haired
woman with her hands raised
; as she testifies. A quotation
from Effie Mae Eure says:
; "See the Holy Spirit is an
; angel. If you are saved, you
? are aonna feel the Holy Spir
! it!" "
"Godsend" is a photograph
of a woman wearing an
I African print skirt and stand
[ ing in a field. Mary Ann Chap
j man is quoted as saying: "I
had to tie them bags around
1 me and be in there picking
! early in the morning. I picked
150 pounds a day - cotton."
Other photographs include
"Grace." in which Cia family
mourns a loved one at a mili
itary funeral; "Carlton," a boy
wearing a sports coat and tie
slightly askew: "Homecom
ing," four smiling men at a
[church celebration; "Miss
Bernice," a smiling woman
wearing sunglasses, a hat and
I
a bead necklace; "Posting
Attendance," a girl sitting on a
pew in church preparing to
post attendance; "Finery," two
girls wearing dresses with
lace and bows; "Choirboy," a
boy singing with adult choir
members; "Sunboy," a man
wearing a hat, head downcast,
and sitting on a porch; "F<ir
gotten Ford," an old truck in
overgrown brush;
"Metaphor," old coats in a
closet; several hunting photos,
including "Extremities," cut
off deer legs; a basket of fish;
kids on swings; a man stand
ing outside a screen porch and
looking in; a Corapeake sign;
the Great Dismal Swamp;
folded hands; a child in a
cornfield; a closeup of Aunt
Sarah with a pensive expres
sion; a woman wearing a fur
coat and a hat with two large
feathers.
The project was inspired
by a friendship by Messick,
who is white, and Brenda
Parker-Hunt, a Corapeake
native who is African-Ameri
can. They became friends in
the 1980s when they were stu
dents at Wake Forest Univer
sity. Messick, who grew up in
Delaware but had family in
North Carolina, said Parker
Hunt's descriptions of her tiny
hometown reminded him Of
her grandfather's stories about
growing up in the South.
Messick, who graduated
from Wake Forest in 1987,
spent several years in
telecommunications sales and
management. After taking
some night classes in photog
raphy, he started hosting
shows to exhibit his work and
began to sell his photographs.
The part-time hobby soon
became a full-time job.
He made his first trip with
Parker-Hunt to Corapeake in
1995 and shot more than 25
rolls of film photographing
her aging relatives and their
neighbors. Messick and Park
er-Hunt returned to Cora
peake a number of times over
the next three or four years,
which yielded a lot of photo
graphs and tape recordings of
older people of Corapeake
1
telling their stories.
"What people (who have
seen Messick's work) have
consistently said is, 'I've
managed to capture the digni^
ty of people," Messick said.
? A writer at the Chicago
Tribune has called it one of
the best portraits of American
small town life he had seen in
years.
The Hanes Gallery is open k
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. week
days and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sal- R
urdays and Sundays. Admis- jfl
sion is free. For more infor- I
motion, call 758-5585. The N
"Chorapeake" exhibit will
run through Nov. 13.
Photo courtesy ol Kendall Messick f
Kendall Messick.
right, poses with
Brenda Parker-Hunt
on the day she grad
uated from Wake For
est University. Parker
Hunt inspired Messick,
also a Wake gradu
ate, to do the "Cora
peake" project.
www.wschronicle.com
Mac Weatherman
Republican Candidate for
71st District House Seat
Eastern Winston-Salem & Forsyth County
Who is Mac Weatherman?
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This year you have a choice
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House Seat District #71
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I hope you share the goals I've stated above and will help me
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?
Bill Schatzman
Elect
William T. "Bill" Scb
For Sheriff A
FBI Special Agent ? U.S. Marine B
24 Years In Law Enforcement A
Endorsed by the Winston-Salem Chapter ^
of the NC Police Benevolent Association. ^
Paid For By Schatzman For Sheriff M