YWCA unveils breast
cancer survivor calendar
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
For 13 local African-Ameri
can women, a very private mat
ter has gone public. And they
couldn't be happier about it.
The women are breast cancer
survivors and they share their
stories in "Sister. Speak I: Stories
of Breast Cancer Survival," a
13-month calendar prepared by
the YWCA of Winston-Salem.
The calendar features each
woman's story from diagnosis to
the present.
The calendar was created to
encourage African-American
women to begin talking about
breast care and to encourage
them to practice the life-saving
actions of self-exams and mam
mograms.
The women who share their
stories are a diverse group. Some
of them were diagnosed later in
life. Others received a diagnosis
while in their 20s. They are
mothers and grandmothers.
Some of them have family histo
ries of breast cancer, while oth
ers are the only members of their
families to battle breast cancer.
They all send the same messages
that black women need to per
form self-exams and get mam
mograms and that a diagnosis of
breast cancer is not a death sen
tence.
"This calendar is about hope
and encouragement." said Robin
B. Ervin. director of marketing
for the YWCA. "The women in
the calendar shared their stories
in hopes that they could prompt
at least one woman to start per
forming self-exams and to go
and get a mammogram. That's
what this calendar is all about.
We are privileged to be a part of
helping them get their message
out."
Women featured in the cal
endar are Tamara Carroll. Eve
lyn Snead. Linda Lindsay. Pearl
Bacote. Theresa Jones. Gloria
Williams Wesley, Betty Bray
boy. Naomi Jackson. Rev. Mary
Peterson. Benita Sims. Carmen
Caruth. Olivia C. Swinton and
Bonnie Nash.
While breast cancer affects
white women at a higher rate
than black women, the death rate
for black women is substantially
higher. This is due to the fact that
black women are not detecting
the disease early through self
exams and mammograms.
The YWCA's Sister. Speak!
program provides free mammo
grams for women without insur
ance or whose insurance will not
cover mammograms.
Copies of the calendars are
available at the YWCA. 1201
Glade Street.
Bacote
Sims
Peterson
Million Moms award Womble for his gun control support
SPfcllAl IX) Mil I IIKIISIC I I
Slate Rep. Larry Womble
was scheduled to be awarded
the first annual "Moms'
Apple Pie" Award by the
Forsyth Mothers and Others
chapter of the Million Mom
March United with the Brady
Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence.
The honor was to be pre
sented Tuesday night during
the chapter's annual meeting
at the Center for Community
Safety, 500 W. Fourth Street.
Womble was selected to
be the first recipient of this
award because of his stead
fast support in the N.C. Leg
islature, often against strong
opposition, of bills that pro
mote reduction of gun vio
lence and enhancement of
community safety.
In the past legislative ses
sion alone, for example.
Womble supported: House
Bill 919, which prevents pos
session of firearms by people
under investigation for
domestic abuse (enacted);
H.B. 1058. which would pro
hibit convicted felons from
possessing any type of
firearm and eliminate the
current exception allowing
felons to possess firearms in
their own homes or places of
business (pending); H.B.
926. which, makes it a Class
AI misdemeanor to commit i
in front of a minor an assault
with a deadly weapon on a
person with whom the
offender has a personal rela
tionship (enacted); and Bill
1061. which would enhance
the legal penalties for all
felonies committed while
possessing, displaying or
discharging a firearm (pend
ing).
Mothers
from page AI
next year. Tolliver anil her friend
Geneva Bryant, the mother of
another one of the teens charged
in the crime, have both com
plained about a lack of communi
cation with the lawyers represent
ing their sons.
Tolliver believes a good
defense can prov e that her son is
incapable of the crime for which
he is charged. Unlike prosecu
tors. who reportedly have confes
sions from some of the teens, Tol
liver has no hard evidence of her
son's innocence, just mother's
intuition.
"He doesn't have it in his
heart," Tolliver said. "I don't
want people to have the wrong
perception of these kids just
because of where they are from
and their backgrounds. They are
not hixxllums."
Forsyth County District
Attorney Tom Keith would not
say if his office has a confession
from any of the teens. Keith did
say that the case against the teens
is solid and may include some
forensic evidence.
"We think we will be success
ful in our prosecution," he said.
Bryant and Tolliver are not
claiming that their boys were
choirboys before they were
arrested. They both had some
minor infractions, which the
mothers chalk up to simply being
young boys. They said murder is
out of their character.
"They have done devilish
things. We all did little devilish
things when we were young."
Bryant said. "But we are talking
about murder, taking people's
lives.. That's not them."
Tolliver also disagrees with
the notion that her son could have
just been with the wrong crowd
w hen the crime happened. All the
teens will
stand tnai
for mur
der. Keith
said the
law is
equally as
hard on
those who
"act in
concert"
during the
commis
sion or a
crime.
The mothers also have com
plaints about the way the boys
were arrested. Bryant has com
plained that she was not allowed
to accompany her then-15-year
old son to the Police Department
when he was questioned. The
Bryant family has filed a com
plaint with the Citizens Police
Review Board, but the Police
Department told The Chronicle
earlier this year that the police
acted within their rights in the
case.
The women believe that a
thorough investigation was not
done before the teens were arrest
ed. The boys were charged less
than a week after Jones was
found dead. Jones was a popular
resident. His New Walkertown
Road gas station is said to be one
of the first in the state to be
owned by an African-American.
He was also the grandfather of
Chris Paul, a local basketball
phenom who will play for Wake
Forest University this season.
Tolliver said there was a rush to
close the case because of Jones'
status.
"This was a big, upstanding
person in the community. There
was a lot of pressure on the police
Jones
and the district attorney's office."
she said.
Bryant and Tolliver said nei
ther they nor their sons knew
Jones, although he lived close by.
Keith said he had no idea
w ho Jones was before his murder.
He denies that Jones' stature
played any role. He said the
process was similar to the more
than 400 murder cases he has
handled during his tenure as DA.
Keith said there was sympathy
for the way Jones, a man in his
60s. died.
"I think the randomness both
ered us. The age of the victim
bothered us." Keith said.
Tolliver and Bryant have not
tried to reach out to the Jones
family, but they said that doesn't .
mean that they are not sympa
thetic to the Joneses' loss.
"I understand what the Jone
ses feel. My heart went out to
them." Tolliver said.
Bryant and Tolliver visit their
sons nearly every week. They -
said their sons share their opti- Z
mism about the upcoming trial. ;
Tolliver hopes that justice will be *
blind and swift.
"I hope that that lady on that
statue with the blindfold, I hope
she is not peeking," she said.
A member of the Jones fami
ly could not be reached for com
ment before the paper's deadline.
Protests
from page A /
to draw attention to the lack of
jobs out there for people."
said Hayes McNeill, first vice
chair of the local Democratic
Party.
Community for Peace, a
local anti-war group, has
teamed with the Democrats.
Community for Peace has
lined up several speakers lor
the event who are expected to
talk down the president's poli
cies on everything from tax
cuts to the war in Iraq.
Late last week, plans for a
third method of protest were
announced. Democrat Larry
Womble. a member of the
N.C. House, has requested a
permit from the Winston
Salem Police Department to
hold a demonstration near the
convention center during
Bush's visit. A police official
told The Chronicle that the
permit would be issued only
after the Secret Service OKed
areas for protesters that would
not jeopardize the president's
safety.
Womble complained last
week at a gathering of several
grassroots organizations that
the soup protest was too tame
a response to the Bush visit.
"I don't want that crazy
man to come into this city and
have a $2.0<)0-a-plate (fund
raiser) and nothing has been
done." ?Womble said. "We
need to do something ahout
Bush. If we don't...the com
munity will think that every
thing is OK." said Womble,
who said things are far from
OK because of job losses,
U.S. casualties in Iraq and
other problems.
Womble said the protest
will start at Winston Square at
around 11 a.m. Protesters will
then march toward the con
vention center with protest
signs. Protesters plan to hold
their signs and vocalize their
disapproval with the president
at a location as close to the
convention center as possible.
The Winston-Salem chap
ter of the NAACP is one of the
organizations that have sigjied
on to join the more vocal
protest. Chapter president
Stephen Hairston said the
NAACP wants Bush to know
that while some Americans
can afford to pay $2,000 for a
lunch, there are many who are
struggling to make ends meet.
"Not everyone is doing
well. Everybody is not happy
with the way things are
going." Hairston said. "We
wish we could offer a $2,000
fund-raiser for some oi our
schools that can't afford nooks
and other supplies."
McNeill said the Democra
tic Party didn't opt for a more
vocal protest because officials
feared that the Secret Service
would mute such protests by
prohibiting protesters from
gathering anywhere near the
president. McNeill pointed to -
the 2000 presidential debate
held at Wake Forest Universi
ty, where protesters on both
sides of the political spectrum
were allowed to demonstrate
in designated areas yards from
the debate site.
A message was left at the
Forsyth County Republican
Party office asking for com
ment on this story but a call
was not received by press
time.
Free Soup and Free
Speech will be held from
10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Win
ston Square Park, which is off
of Marshall Street near the
Sawtooth Center.
L & B Oil Company
f We provide quality service in a timely manner.
We supply home heating fuel for
Residential and Commercial Prop
erties
Please contact: Gary Brown or James
Lowery, Sr. @ 336-761-8778
Eric S. Ellison
Attorney at Law
Practice Areas:
? Real Estate Closings
? District Court Practice
? Business Law
? Property Bonds
515 West 2nd Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
Phone: (336) 723-7370 ? Email: EricSEIlison@aol.com
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