City website available
in 12 different languages
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Information about the city
government, its departments,
and its services is now avail
able in 12 languages.
Translating the city's web
page to a number of different
languages is intended to help
overcome the barriers of lan
guage. culture, and ethnic
background, says Wanda
Allen-Abraha. the director of
human relations. "Human
Relations is always commit
Photo by Paul Collins
Officers take their oath during last week's graduation.
Police
from page AI
its contracting, even when
white Republican council
members have supported such
programs.
Robinson's comments
about the rookie bothered
Chief Linda Davis so much
that she issued a statement late
last week. Davis said that
every rookie officer has meet
standards established by the
state and the city.
"The trainee to whom Mr.
Robinson alludes is a graduate
of the.'JJniversity of Maryland,
a veteran of the U.S. Army and
a lifelong resident of Winston
Salem. He has a class average
of 93 and also made the sec
ond highest score on the state
exam," Davis said in the state
ment. She called Robinson's
firearms allegations "unfound
ed."
When asked about the
council member's comments
after last week's graduation,
Davis also described Robin
son's allegations as a "distor
tion" and "misinformation" .
She refused to elaborate any
further about Robinson's com
ments.
Others did have reactions,
though.
Mayor Pro Temp Vivian
Burke said the rookie should
not be singled out because of
his age.
"Just because you reach a
certain (age), it does not mean
it has anything to do with the
mind," she said. "If God gives
you your mind, you should be
able to do anything you want."
Burke praised Davis for
not rejecting the rookie
ted to equal access of infor
mation for all members of its
community," she said.
Translations in Spanish.
English, French, German,
Dutch, Russian, Italian, Chi
nese (two dialects - tradition
al and simplified), Greek,
Japanese, and Korean may be
accessed on the website by
the flag icons located at the
bottom of the screen. For
more information, visit the
city's website at www.city
ofws.org.
because of his age. City Coun
cil member Joycelyn Johnson
also said age should not be an
issue if a person is qualified
for the job.
"We can't discriminate in
terms of age if a person is
doing a good job," Johnson
said.
Burke said the department
must also continue to recruit
qualified minorities in order
for the police force to look like
the city.
"We
want to
work
hard to
mirror
this
commu
nity and
we are
still
falling
Burke snori,
said
Burke, who is chairwoman of
the Public Safety Committee,
which oversees activities of
the police and fire depart
ments.
The police department has
being making a strong push to
recruit minority officers for
years. Recently, the depart
ment launched an advertising
campaign aimed at Winston
Salem State University stu
dents and graduates. The ads
feature pictures of well estab
lished black members of the
department who graduated
from WSSU. including assis
tant police chiefs Mike
McCoy and Patricia Norris.
Last week's crop of graduates
included several blacks.
Vernon Robinson could not
be reached for comment at his
home on Tuesday night.
Local couple helping African
man make his dreams come true
BY COURTNEY GAILLARD
THE CHRONICLE
Isaac Amonoo is a long
way from his home in the
Repbblic of Ghana. His wife
and child are still living there
while he fulfills his dream of
pursuing a formal education in
the United States. A chance
meeting with Maurice Horsey,
a national consultant with
YMCA USA. in Ghana a few
years ago helped Amonoo
secure a visa to travel to the
states to chase his dream.
"It has always been my
heart's desire to pursue higher
education at a college .God has
stayed on my side and I was
able to perform well on the
SAT," said Amonoo.
Although Horsey and
Amonoo developed a connec
tion through the YMCA, their
relationship has grown since
Horsey and his wife, Judy,
have been hosting Amonoo in
their home while he applies to
American universities.
Amonoo's SAT score?was
high enough to earn him a four
year academic scholarship to
Lincoln University in Pennsyl
vania where he will pursue a
degree in accounting. At one
point, Amonoo says he was
unsure if he would obtain a
scholarship to cover his col
lege expenses. He feared he
would have to return home,
which he did for a period of
time. But, he credits his faith
in God and the generosity of so
many people for the opportuni
ty to further his education in
the states.
He starts his freshmen year
at Lincoln next month.
"With determination,
prayer and commitment - God
is always on your side. That is
the key in one's life, because
always we have to listen to our
inner voice - yourself (and
determine) what is it that God
wants you to do with your
self,"Amonoo said. "(The
Horseys) kept me going all the
time, encouraging me, telling
me to have faith...my only
hope was God and true to his
word he wrote this victory."
The Horsey family say they
will miss Amonoo, who has
become like a son to them.
Judy Horsey says he "really
belongs to Maurice and me. He
has come in and fit like our
own and I have been totally
spoiled."
No stranger to the YMCA,
Amonoo worked for the Ghana
YMCA for 11 years. In 2001,
Amonoo attended the YMCA
USA Young Adult Leadership
Summit during the YMCAs
150 anniversary. His associa
tion with the Y has allowed
him to travel this country, vis
iting different Ys and partici
pating in numerous programs.
Amonoo saw snow for first
time last year while in this
country.
While waiting to start
School. Amonoo has spent his
time volunteering at the Habi
tat for Humanity Restore
Photo by Courtney (iaillard
Isaac Amonoo, center, poses with Maurice and Judy Horsey.
where the staff has become
accustomed to his dedication
and willingness to work.
"He's worth his weight in
gold. He has worked and
worked and he's so enthusias
tic, it's contagious., he really
understands why we're here
and why we do what we do,"
said Kelly Persons, director of
development for Habitat of
Forsyth County.
Judy Horsey is the director
of volunteer services for Habi
tat of Forsyth.
Amonoo says he sees the
mission of both the YMCA and
Habitat for Humanity as one in
the same with a shared goal of
helping people to become self
sufficient.
"Anything 1 do, 1 do it out
of my heart. 1 don't look to
money because money has
always been a secondary thing
to me but you give of yourself
and think of somebody else.
I'm willing to do the work of
God that has always been a
part of my life," said Amonoo.
Once Amonoo earns his
degree from Lincoln Universi
ty, he hopes to return to his
home in Ghana and give to his
community what he has
learned in this country.
"People on the other side of
the world need our help...if I
am able to create an environ
ment for me to have a better
life for myself and my family, I
will also be in position to help
others. That has been my
whole philosophy in life,"
Amonoo said.
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Economy
from paffe A2
But manufacturing has shed
jobs with such force since July
2000, the start of the manufactur
ing recession, that every state has
lost jobs over the three-year peri
od, according to the National
Association of Manufacturers, a
Washington-based trade group.
Collectively, the manufactur
ing industry since July 2000 has
contracted by 2.6 million jobs, or
about 14 percent.
"Blacks are still overrepre
sented in the unionized, manufac
turing sector," said William Sprig
gs, director of the National Urban
League's Institute on Opportunity
and Equality.
And blacks were further hit by
their entry into the high-tech sec
tor, the first to be battered by the
recession, Spriggs notes.
"Blacks got into the backbone
of the Interpet laying cable,
installing equipment and that sec
tor is totally bust," he said.
Nationally, overall unemploy
ment hit 6.4 percent in June, up
from 6.1 percent in May. Non
Hispanic. white unemployment
reached 5.5 percent in June, up
from 5.4 percent in May. The
overall rate was the highest in nine
years.
Growth in the construction
industry comes via cheap immi
grant labor, as well as the tweak
ing of interest rates by the Federal
Reserve, says Dr. Raul Htnojosa.
a professor at the University of
California at Los Angeles.
"Blacks basically command
more labor market power, where
as Latinos cannot because of their
immigration status." Hinojosa
said. "Therefore, the wage pres
sure is kept down on Latinos mak
ing them more exploitable, and.
therefore, -more employable.
There is really no subtle way to
explain the point."
But if some economists and
market
analysts
are cor
rect about
the con
struction
bubble of
growth
bursting
soon,
Hispanics
will be hit
hard.
Spriggs
Hinojosa theorized.
Only 57 percent of Hispanics
have a high school education, a
fact that reflects the high number
of immigrants in the group.
Among blacks. 79 percent have
high school degrees. And among
non-Hispanic whites. 88 percent
have high school degrees, accord
ing to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Harry Holzer. a Georgetown
University professor and the for
mer chief economist for the Labor
Department during the Clinton
administration, said other factors
are at play in explaining the dif
ferences in black and Latino
unemployment.
But Latinos benefit from
tightly woven job networks. Holz
er said. Furthermore. Hispanics
are less likely to live in segregated
neighborhoods, which means they
are dispersed around a wider cir
cle of jobs.
Latinos are more likely to
have early job experience in their
teens and young adulthood than
blacks, he said. And labor partici
pation rates, comparing blacks
and Latinos, bear that out.
According to June stats from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, His
panics, 16 to 20, have a participa
tion rate of 44 percent, vs. 39 per
cent for blacks.
Beyond that, there are simply
issues of perceptions about the
two groups, Holzer said.
"Employers are happier to
hire Latino males than black
men." said Holzer. who edited a
book on black youth and their
employment. "Black men are the
most negatively perceived group.
There is this perceived attitude
and maybe the employer brings an
attitude, too."
Faced with such problems,
some blacks say, the solution is to
become your own boss. Small
businesses, after all, are the mus
cular engine of at least two-thirds
of U.S. job growth and they
employ about half of the private
sector workforce.
The U.S. Small Business
Administration reported this
month that its loans to African
Americans increased by 88 per
cent in the first three quarters of
the fiscal year. By comparison,
loans to Hispanics increased by 44
percent and the overall increase in
loans backed by the SBA was up
36 percent.