18 110807 1
NORTH CAROLINA ROOM
"5-DIGIT 27101
FOFSYTH CTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
660 W 5TH ST
WINSTON SALEM NC 27101-2755
Vol. XXXIII No. 48
THURSDAY, August 23, 2007
| North off
to a great
football
season
-See Page HI
Kids learn
lessons
through ?
planting
- See Page A3
i Church
march
takes ovtitto
downtovOifc
?See Page BI4
Author shares past with freshmen
Gene Cheek hands a signed program to a student.
As a boy, Cheek was taken from mother
because she dated a black man
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Author Gene Cheek spoke at
Winston-Salem State University's
new student convocation last week.
His book, "The Color of Love: A
Mother's Choice in the Jim Crow
South," was read by WSSU freshmen
this summer.
In the book, Cheek, who is white,
recounts his youth in Winston-Salem
and how he was torn from his mother
when she was declared unfit. Her only
crime was that she was dating
Cornelius Tucker, a black man. At the
time interracial marriages and rela
tionships were outlawed in North
Carolina and several other states. His
mother. Sallie, tried to keep the rela
tionship a secret, but when she and
Tucker had a child, she could no
longer hide it.
It came to i head at the Forsyth
County Courthouse in 1964. when
authorities tried to take Cheek away
from his mother. During the trial,
many members of Cheek's family tes
tified against Sallie, including
Cheek's alcoholic father, whom his
mother had separated from. However,
none of the family members wanted
custody of Cheek. The judge made his
mother choose between losing him or
her newborn son. Cheek, then 12
Sec Freshmen on A13
No Rain on This Parade
^ Photo by Kevin Walker
The Blue and Gold Marching Machine, N.C. A&T's acclaimed band, pauses in front of Traders Row, the new Trade Street building that will
soon house condos, shops and businesses like ISP Sports, a mega-college athletics marketing firm. ISP invited the bands of A&T and several
other schools to take part in a parade through the streets of downtown last week to celebrate its new headquarters. Other ISP celebratory events
last week included a concert by "Footloose" singer Kenny Loggins and a private dinner prepared by noted chefs Jamie and Bobby Dean.
Carver's
progress is
praised by Lee
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
The chairman of the State Board of
Education praised the efforts of Carver High
School students and his leaders earlier this
week during remarks at the school.
Lee
the school appears to
be on the upswing
since it was threatened
with closure by a state
judge nearly two years
ago.
"Just look at the
progress that has been
and is being made by
Carver, and there is no
question in my mind
that all of us should be
very proud of the leadership provided by this
principal (Carol Montague)," said Lee. "The
achievements that she is obtaining and the
fact that students graduating from this school
are being prepared to compete anywhere in or
Sec Carver on A 13
New, bold voice for card industry
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
"It's not what you say, it's how
you say it."
That is the mantra of Lyrics
Personals, a Greensboro-based greet
ing card company. Owner Robert
Jeffers has a different idea of how to
say things, an idea that has made his
fledgling business quite popular
among a myriad of consumers.
Q Stark black and white photo
graphs grace the covers - everything
from garbage dumpsters to railroad
tracks - and the cards often depict
tender moments, a couple holding
hands or staring into one another's
eyes.
"These are everyday pictures -
nothing too crazy, but just something
that you would see walking down the
street," Jeffers said of the photos,
which he takes himself. "I take emo
tions that we feel on a daily basis and
I put them into the cards."
Many of the cards feature urban
backdrops, a throwback to Jeffers'
early days growing up in New York
City.
"The pictures that I put on the
front of cards are pictures that you do
^ II 1 1 '
Photo courtesy of Lyric Pereonal
Robert Jeffers with some of his greeting cards.
not see on the front of regular cards,"
he pointed out. "I take pictures of
people from the inner city. I take pic
tures of scenery that you would find
in the city. There's a lot of beauty in
black and white photos and in the
inner city, it's just how you look at
it."
The language in the cards is
deliberately urban as well, lending a
decidedly casual feel to the art. One
card, for example, features a photo of
a young boy playing with his dog on
a lawn. It reads: " yV true friend gets
See .letters on A10
PRNewsFoto
< Russell Simmons
A&T to
welcome
Russell
Simmons
Hip Hop Summitt will
focus on economics
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Some of the most recog
nizable names in the music
industry and financial world
are slated to be in
Greensboro next month for a
high-profile free event.
N.C. A&T State
University will be the latest
site to host Hip-Hop Summit
Action Network's ongoing
series of town hall discus
sions. The talks, which have
been held all over the nation,
ponders ways to improve the
African-American commu
nity in
t h e
areas of
educa
tion,
health
care and
e c o -
nomics.
The
Sept. 8
summit
at A&T
is slated
Terrence J
to feature music mogul
Russell Simmons, who co
founded the Hip-Hop
Summit Action Network and
serves as its chairman.
Simmons is the co-founder
of the landmark hip hop
record label, Def Jam, and
the creator of the clothing
line Phat Farm. All of his
multi-million dollar ventures
are now part of his Rush
Communications, -which
also includes a management
company, a movie produc
tion house, television shows
such as "Def Comedy Jam,"
a magazine and an advertis
ing agency.
The theme of the A&T
summit will be "Get Your
Money Right." The Hip-Hop
Summit Action Network has
been discussing that topic as
part of a financial literacy
and empowerment tour that
has already visited cities
such as Houston and Detroit.
Stops in Atlanta,
Washington D.C. and Miami
are planned later in the year. yy
'"Get Your Money Right'
continues to be our national
theme for the financial
empowerment Hip-Hop
Summits," emphasized
Simmons, whose personal
fortune is estimated to be
around $325 million. "Hip
hop is about eliminating
poverty and ignorance, and
we have found a creative and
effective method of raising
Sec Summit on A10
In Grateful Memory of Our
Founders ,
Florrie S. Russell and
Carl H.Russell, Sr.
" Growing and StiU Dedicated to Serve You Better"
fogged -3fmtcntl fflame
Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their Support
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