The
Vol. XXXIII No. 50
THURSDAY, September 6, 2007
Mt. Tabor
football
team off to
good start
-See Page Bl
Panther
Seale
slated at
WSSU
- See Page AlO
Hospital
employee
excels
on the job
Alorth Carotin;
NAACP works to be part of solution
Fik Photo
N A A C P
President
Stephen
Hairston has
been busy
fielding com
plaints from
parents about
schools.
Organization partners with school system to aid student success
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
It is no secret that the
Winston-Salem Branch of the
NAACP and the city/ county
school system have not
always seen eye to eye. In
recent years, the NAACP has
criticized the school system
for a variety of reasons.
"We've been critical of the
school system in Forsyth
County ... and the dispropor
tionate number of black kids
being expelled, suspended,
the disproportionate number
of black kids being arrested,
and. of course, the number of
schools in the black commu
nity that
are just ^ ?
failing
when it
comes to
end of the
year
tests,"
said local
NAACP
President
Stephen
Hairston.
This
Martin
year, however, the NAACP is
taking a new approach, col
laborating with the school
system to foster positive
change.
"We (will) still raise our
concerns with the school sys
tem, but we need to get in the
ball game too and see what we
all can do to come together
and work to solve some of
these problems," Hairston
commented.
Details of the program,
which the NAACP has dubbed
the No Excuse Initiative, are
still being ironed out, but the
NAACP has already agreed to
work closely with Parkland
High School's incoming
freshman class this year,
addressing academic and dis
See NAACP on AS
Tears flow as
survivors speak
State program sterilized more than 7,000
people without their consent
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Two survivors of North Carolina's eugenics program shared
their emotional, tragic stories at
Photo by Todd Luck
Mary English was tricked
into sterilization.
lalor
lilt ivvvj/uuii iv/i un
exhibit now on display at
Winston-Salem State University
that explores one of the darkest
parts of the state's history.
Elaine Riddick sobbed as
she told the audience that she
was raped and had a child when
she was only 13. In the wake of
this incident, a state-directed
sterilization procedure was per
formed on her without her
knowledge wtien she was 14.
Riddick was among the
thousands of poor blacks target
ed by the program, which
forcibly sterilized residents
deemed unfit between 1929 and
1975. The impact of what was
done to Riddick, hit her years
"I got married at the age of 18 year of age," she said. "At the
age of 19, we wanted to start a family. I didn't get pregnant so I
went to the doctor and the doctor made clear that I was
See Exhibit on A14
A Community that Builds Together ...
wm?rwKa mmT<m ? iil : M ? ? IT" ? I 1 1 ?? ? ?
Photo by Kevin Walker
Doris Barr, a faithful member of First Calvary Baptist Church, helps build a Habitat for
Humanity home for a local family on Saturday. Dozens of people, many from local
churches, spent part of their holiday weekend at the building site in Glen Oaks. To read
more about the effort, see page BIO.
Restoration efforts continue despite leader 's death
Officials hope historic designations will help raise funds, awareness
Hi Pfe*
This 2005 photo shows a headstone in Odd Fellows Cemetery amid overgrown shrubs.
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
The Odd Fellows Cemetery,
one of the oldest and largest
African-American cemeteries in
Winston-Salem,
\i/a? rprcnflv
to the city's list of
historic landmarks.
Started in 1911,
two years before the
merger of Winston
and Salem, the
cemetery is named
for the Odd Fellows
Fraternal Order,
which still owns the
cemetery off of
Chnrofair Hrivp
(near the Dixie Classic
Fairgrounds).
In its heyday, the cemetery
was the premier burial site for
the city's black elite, especially
since there were few graveyards
at the beginning of the 20th cen
tury that accepted African
Americans. It is believed that as
many as 10,000 people are
Clyburn
Q
buried on Odd rellow s more
than 10 acres of land. The exact
figure is unknown because a
building that housed the ceme
tery's records burned to the
ground decades ago.
Odd Fellows has
When members of the
Odd Fellows Order,
who cared for the
graveyard, began to die
off, the cemetery fell
into disrepair.
Overgrown vegetation
coyered gravestones
until the cemetery
became a virtual jun
gle, unfit for loved
?... iW. ?/>
UIIC9 U1 UK UtttdKU IV/
even visit.
Help for the cemetery came
in the late 1990s in the form of
the Odd Fellows Reclamation
Committee, which has worked
diligently to restore the cemetery
to its former glory.
"It's a historic place and
that's why we're trying to bring
See Odd Fellows on AIO
Power
bill help
program
enhanced
Agencies work together
to help residents meet
energy demands
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
As the mercury rose on the
thermometer this summer, so
did the energy bills, as local
residents struggled to keep
their homes at a comfortable
temperature. For many county
residents, the record tempera
tures this summer posed more
than just
a n a
annoy- r
a i* c e .
Families
who
struggled
to keep
their
heads
above
water
finan
cially
Freeney
prior to the heat wave were
faced with a difficult choice:
brave the heat or pay a high
premium for comfort, as air
conditioners labored day and
night.
Luckily, there is some
relief for low income families
and seniors in the area, by way
of the CIP (Crisis Intervention
Program). One of two energy
programs funded ,by a federal
grant through"' the U.S.
Department of Health and
Human Services, the CIP
offers much-needed financial
aid to those threatened by ter
mination notices from the
power company.
"Utility bills have gotten
higher and higher; low income
families' income hasn't gotten
any higher." explained Bobbi
Bales, program manager for
the Forsyth County
Department of Social Services
(DSS), which oversees the dis
tribution of CIP funds on the
local level.
Traditionally, the CIP pro
vides up to $300 per fiscal year
to households in Forsyth
County that meet program
guidelines. The federal
See Partnership on AS
In Grateful Memory of Our
Founders,
Florrie S. Russell and
CarlH. Russell, Sr.
"Growing and Still Dedicated to Serve You Better "
ffiugggll
Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their Support
822 t:arl Russell Ave.
(at MarUn Luther King Dr.)
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
C33?) 722-3
Fax (336) <531-8268