1HE
16 11?>807 1
NORTH CAROLINA ROOM
FORSYTH CTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
660 W 5TH ST
WINSTON SALEM NC 27101-2755
5-DIGIT 27101
w
Vol. XXXIII No. 19
Tournament
title goes
to Reynolds
JV squad
See Page Bl
Marriage
group
promotes
happiness
?See Page A9
*
MusCtim
hosts
popular
holiday event
?See Page B14
A Brother's Pride
v. (
4
Local attorney proiid of siblings history-making Congressional swearing-in
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Minnesota Rep Keith
Ellison made history last
Thursday when he placed lus
hand on a Quran once owned by
Thomas Jefferson and became
the first Muslim to be sworn into
the United States Congress
Watching him make history
were proud members of his fam
ily including lus brother, Enc
Ellison, who is a lawyer in
Winston-Salem Keith and Eric
come from a family of five
brothers, all born and raised in
Detroit, Mich
Eric Ellison said about 30
members of his family attended
the inauguration as well as the
day's, other events like the eon
gressional church service, the
Congressional Black Caucus
swearing yi ceremony, and the
reception held in the congress
man's new office after the inau
guration. Eric Hlison Said the
family got to rub elbows with
the likes of Mel Watt and Nancy
Pelosi and that Barack Obama
even congratulated his parents
Keith Ellison, a state repre
sentative from Minnesota,
became the first African
American U.S. congressman
from that state when he won in
last year's midterm elections
Hlison s religion and request to
be sworn in using a Quran have
received nationwide attention
Eric Hlison described his
brother as a man with a long his
tory of service who is approach
ing his new position with humil
ity. He said his brother knows
he's in Congress to secve
"He seixflus as an opixirtu
Rioto courtesy of Ertc Elli ion
U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (left) with U.S. Rep. Mel Watt and local attorney Eric Ellison in the U.S. Capitol.
ruty for us as Americans to learn
from one another and to break
down (barriers) and to build
bridges." said Eric Ellison.
Eric Ellison said he comes
from a close knit family, all of
whom went to Minnesota at var
ious points to help with his
brother's election The weekend
he went there he said he ended
up mainly just following his "big
brother" around and providing
moral support
He said, of the five Ellison
brothers, four of them, including
See Ellison on All
Photoi by Lay la
Farmer
Phyllis
Bailey, an
amateur his
torian and
genealogist,
poses with
one of her
many quilts.
A Quilting Story
Exhibit examines belief that slaves spoke throu^fabric
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE - o -
A message in a quilt about a patii4o freedom for American slaves - woven in the
fabnc of what, at first glance, appeared to be an ordinary house
hold object - is an intriguing tale ot resource! illness ana inge
nuity
There is some debate about whether the story of slaves
using quilts to communicate information about the
Underground Railroad is an unsubstantiated romanticized tale,
of a truth buried~long ago with the ancestors of modern day
African-Americans, surviving only in the retelling of their oral
history It is doubtful that the truth will ever be known for sure,
but the story is nevertheless embedded in American lore
The Delta Arts Center in Winston-Salem opened "Samplers
Si Symmetry." the center's first^juilting exhibition Jan " A
youth quilting workshop preceded the opening Jan 6 and a lec
ture. "How Secret Codes In Ouilts Provided Maps to Freedom
Caesar
for Slaves On the ( Jnderground Railroad." was given by Phyllis Bailey, who is an ama
teur historian and genealogist of blacks in Iredell County
Quilting patterns such as the shoofly w hich is said to identify a friendly guide who
is nearby and can help, the drunkard's path, which urged escaped slaves to create a
Sec Quilts on A13
The
-New
Year
HOMETOWN
COLUM^
By Maya
V
Angeloj^
We spend a large portion of
our time on earth greeting and
saying farewell The first days
of romantic relationships are
delightful and full of promises
Flowers seem to bloom
everywhere Birds sing joyful
little songs and the patlis we
select are smooth and down hill
all the way
Then life happens Alas, the
golden days turn pale and gray
The beloved's voice which
once sounded like angels whis
penng turns harsh and raspy .
The conversations, which at one
time lightened our hearts and
made us laugh cheerfully, offers
only sour u ords/ mean phrases
and sarcasm And we start to
wonder what we saw in our cho
sen one in the first place
We begin to plan our
farewell. We may not. in reality,
act upon our plan, but secretly
we plot and imagine how won
derful life will be once we have
said goodbye
I realize the truth in those
statements when 1 remember
how glad I was to see the year
2005 depart I had had enough
of it I had lost friends and fam
ily to "times' dateless night
Meaningful relationships had
been compromised 1 had found
*i great lie in the mouth of a
beloved And my body had aged
beyond my will I did make a
few valuable new friends But 1
was glad to let go of 2005 and
welcomed 2006 with open arms
and a hopeful heart
As it turned out, I found that
2006 had been no kinder than
the year winch preceded it I did
make some new friends and I did
find some old friends, loyal to a
fault, but I was quite tired of
2006 and it was okay for it to
leave
And. now here is 200", look
ing just fine It feels full of good
promise I am counting on it to
be really great
So. welcome 200" and
Happy New Year to us all
"? ? t
World renowned poet and
author Dr. Maya Angelou. the
city's most famous resident, is
the Reynolds professor of
American studies at Wake Forest
' Un/versity.
Hispanics getting home
buying help from company
0Y TODD LUCK
|HE CHRONICLE
* GREENSBORO Buying a house can be a
{omplicated process Mortgages, credit scores and
utilities are just a few of the things a new home
owner may have to deal with before moving in
fJow imagine dealing with all that, but in a foreign
language
* That's the problem NC tu Casa is try ing to fix
The new business, which will open soon in
{ireensboro. plans to offer real estate services to
members of the Hispanic community in their
native tongue
* NC tu Casa will house Spanish speaking Hide
gendent contractors who will cover all aspects of
purchasing a home Some of the services provided
will include real estate and mortgage services,
credit counseling, legal services insurance and
assistance with utilities set up All of it will be
housed inside of a '5,800 square foot building at
2627 Grimsley St which used to house the
regional offices of McDonald's restaurants many
years ago
Several investors have put there money and
resources into the venture including Roger
McManus. who has- owned the building, for 18
years that will house NC tu Casa
"Serving the community is very simple for us.
You come in, you can speak your native tongue
See NC tu Casa on A13
Rio to by Todd Luck
Salvador
Santana, left,
and Roger*
M c M a it us
stand in front
of NC tu
Casa in q
Greensboro.
N
In Grateful Memory of Our
Founders,
Florrie S. Russell and
Carl H. Russell , Sr.,
"Growing and Still Dedicated to Serve You Better"
ffiuggell fflnnmtl ffinme
Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their Support
822 Carl Kunwell A.v\e.
(at Martin I Outlier King Or.)
Winston-Salem , NC " 27 1 0 1
(336) 722-3459 A
Fax (336) 631-8268
nnfhomc? bellsouth. net