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75 '';-";bYTH cmv PL? LIB SSTON-SALEM ? GREENSBORO ? HIGH POINT from this library Vol. XXIX No. 42
? Jnw.iJ55 BEBX&mQBSBZM i. :
Offended
blacks walk
out of local
card store
Owner says her comments not racist
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Not even the soothing, melodic words of Hall
mark cards were enough to distract several African
Americans from hearing what they believe was a
raciafslur last week in a Winston-Salem store.
Sarah Barge was one of seven African-Americans
in Rosie's Hallmark store on Robinhood Road the
morning of June 12 who overheard the store's white
owner telling her husband over the telephone that
there were "B-L-A-C-K" (the word was spelled out)
-r ?' people in the store.
Barge. who
was shopping for a
Father's Day card
for her husband,
said she thought
her ears were
deceiving her until
the store's owner,
Brenda Spicer,
spelled the word
again and again.
"1 was very
offended," Barge
- Monica Smith, said. She also was
offended customer upset that the word
was spelled out
because, she said,
that implied that the black customers could not com
prehend what was being said.
Barge and at least one other customer approached
Spicer to ask her what she meant by her comment.
Spicer insisted that her words were not racial but said
out of excitement because her store never gets
African-American customers.
The black customers, however, did not buy her
explanation or her products. They left the store with
out making purchases, and some are vowing to take
up the issue with Hallmark's national office.
"You can't tell me that she is not accustomed to
seeing blacks in her store," said Barge, who said she
had shopped in the store before and was treated well.
A tearful Spicer accepted The Chronicle's request
for a reporter to come to her store to discuss the inci
dent a few hours after it occurred. She insisted that
her comments were not racist and that she did not call
her husband because she was uncomfortable that the
only castomers in the store were black.
"This region around here, we don't have a lot of
black people. And since Bea's Hallmark (once locat
ed on Summit Boulevard ) has closed, I am getting a
See Store on A4
"I was shocked. I was
reading cards when I
heard her spelling it
out. 1 was saying to
myself, 'Is she
spelling "black"?"'
Council matriarch says
racial balance a concern
About 70 percent of the people who would be annexed are white
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
The longest serving member
of the City Council said last
week that she has made it clear to
the mayor and city manager that
she does not want the city's pro
posed annexation to dilute the
black vote.
Mayor Pro Tern Vivian Burke
said she has opposed past annex
ations during her 26 years on the
council out of concern for black
voter strength.
"I have supported (annexa
tion) when people requested to
be annexed. My concern has
been the dilution of representa
tion by minorities. I have spelled
that out real clear with all of the
(city
adminis
trators).
The
mayor
and I
have
been in
conver
sation."
Burke
said.
The
City Council got its first look at a
trimmer annexation plan late last
week. After people who would
be annexed complained that their
Terry
livelihood as farmers would be
jeopardized under the original
plan, the council sent city plan
ners back to the drawing board to
come up with a scaled-back
annexation proposal that would
exclude explicitly rural areas.
The new plan would annex about
17,500 people into the city as
opposed to the nearly 24,000
who would have been added
under the old plan.
If annexation passes, the
majority of new city residents
will be white, which has some
concerned that African-Ameri
can council members in wards
where now black voters have a
See Annexation on A9
Photo by Courtney Gaillard
Vivian Burke has been a member af the
City Council for more than 25 years.
Expressing
Freedom
Juneteenth celebration incorporates good health
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Sharon Haney checjced the
woman's blood pressure twice to
make sure that
the first reading
wasn't a fluke.
The second
reading was
abnormally high
as.well.
-.-i-^Are you on
blood pressure
medication?"
Haney, a regis
tered nurse at
Wake Forest
University Bap
tist Medical
Center, asked
the woman, who
nodded back a
"no." -
"You need to
see a doctor about this," Haney
said, pointing to the woman's
reading and explaining why it
was considered high.
Members of Sisters of
Bivouac Chapter 530 had antici
pated that people like the
woman with the high blood |
pressure would come to their
first-ever Juneteenth celebration
to not just enjoy the food, music
and games but
also to learn
more about
their health.
"We wanted
to make black
men and
women more
aware of some
of the health
threats out
there." said
Jean Nunn-St.
Preux, the
chapter's wor
thy matron.
To that end.
a health fair
was integrated
into the Juneteenth event. There
were areas where' blood pressure
and glucose screenings were
done beside areas where bingo
was played and where eye-brow
arching was taught.
See Juneteenth on A11
PtKHos by Kevin Walker
A.J. Harris of Engine Three shows Trey Fulton some of the gadgets on a
firetruck. Left: a volunteer shields herself from the sun.
Teens looking for
work get assistance
Urban League hoping to draw attention
BY COURTNEY GAILLARD
THE CHRONICLE
The Urban League and the
Mayor's Office are helping
local teens such as Lashaunda
Tomlin land jobs for the sum
mer. Tomlin, 15, a rising sopho
more at Glenn High School, has
applied for several jobs now
that.
school is
out. But
To mIi n
and other
youths
like her
are being
turned
away by
business
es who
say they
Solomon
can i
afford to hire them.
"I feel that while I'm young
I need to get as much training
as possible before I go out in
the real world." said Tomlin.
who also is running into prob
lems because of her age. Most
employers, said Tomlin. prefer
to hire someone who is at least
16 years old.
The 2003 Summer Youth
Job Program is attempting to
remedy the summer blues for
willing and able teens who wish
to join the work force. The pro
gram matches youths aged 14
17 with'enfployment opportuni
ties that correspond to their
interests, skills and abilities.
Program participants also
receive basic job-skills training
on the interview process, work
attire, first impressions and
how to obtain a work permit.
Other partners in the pro
gram include the Winston
Salem Chamber of Commerce,
Kid Commerce. Housing
Authority of Winston-Salem,
the Ministers Conference, the
Department of Social Services,
the Winston-Salem Police
Department and Winston
Salem/Forsyth County Schools.
According to Cleo
Solomon, vice president of pro
gram operations for the Urban
League, more than 4(X) applica
S.v Jobs on A5
Photo by KeviOValkct
Nine-year-old Daquan Gadson helps fellow 9-year-old
Janaiya McKey choose the right beads for her mask. The two
youngsters took part in Vacation Bible School last week at
St. Paul United Methodist Church. See B5 for the story.
Caucus votes to
honor two locals
Rep. Larry Womble nominated Malloy, Newell
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE ^
Lawmakers have voted to
honor two Winston-Salem resi
dents tomorrow in Research
Triangle Park during the Black
Legislative Conference, an
tmnuiff*evem sponsored by the
state's Legislative Black Cau
cus.
Retired surgeon Dr. Rem
bert Malloy will receive the
group's highest honor, the
Henry E. Frye Trailblazer
Award. The award is named for
the former legislator and state
Supreme Court chief justice.
Retired educator Dr. Vir
ginia Newell will receive a
community service award.
Rep. Larry Womble nomi
nated Malloy and Newell. He
. was supported in his effort by
fellow Forsyth County repre
sentative Earline Parmon. Last
year Womble nominated and
successfully lobbied for another
local man. Carl Matthews, to
receive the Frye award.
See Caucus on A4
Malloy
NeweU<
I he Only ( hoice.for African-. \mencan unit < ommumty