Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Nov. 1, 2007, edition 1 / Page 1
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NUrCm * - FORSYTH CTY PUBx., 66d W 5TH ST WINSTON SALEM NO ;BRARV Vol. XXXIV No. 8 THURSDAY, November 1, 2007 W-S Prep looking toward Oak Hill game -See Page Bl Concert will honor man who gave much - See Page A13 Breakfast xebr at/ 7S""" celebrate^orth c^Yi^oaq& I I Forsyth*Coafl^Puftjjf Library lOCai 660 vvfesK students winstairw See Page B7 ^ >807 X * S-DIGIT 27101 No Easy Task Forum on young black males tackles problems, solutions BYT. KEVIN WALKER THE CHRONICLE A forum last week was to focus on "The Plight of Young Black Males." But before a panel of educators and commu nity leaders uttered one word, the topic of discussion was amended to the "The Plight, and Promise, of Young Black Males." With that altered theme, an audience of more than 200 lis tened intently to statistics, sce narios and perspectives that were good, bad and downright ugly. From the onset, it was made clear that many popularly-held Photos by Kevin Walker Panelists Donnie Holt, from left, Nathan Ross Freeman, Robert Stephens and George Mims. notions about black men, such as the belief that there are more African-American men in pris ons than college classrooms, are pure myth (U.S. Census figures in 2000 found that there were about 200,000 more black men in college than behind bars) . But facts about today's black males are even more disturbing than the fiction, said Harold Martin, the senior vice president for academic affairs for the University of North Carolina System and the former chancel lor of Winston-Salem State University (WSSU). "I do believe that we are in an epidemic situation," said Martin, after citing statistics that show that black men are twice as likely to be unemployed than their white counterparts and nearly seven-times more likely to be entangled in the criminal justice system. Martin and Nigel Alston, a GMAC Insurance executive and chairman of the WSSU Board of Trustees, co-chaired the pro gram - one of more than a dozen events held during a four-day gathering of the Southeast Region Boul? (Sigma Pi Phi), a more than 100-year-old organi zation that is arguably the nation's most esteemed African American fraternal group. Archons - what Boul? members like Martin and Alston are called - came from Tennessee. South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and beyond to Winston Salem for the regional powwow, which was hosted by Gamma Kappa, the city's Boul? chapter. Amid the dinners, the dance, receptions, fraternity business meetings and tours of the city, the panel discussion provided archons and their wives, known as archousai, with a stark dose of reality - but one that they swallowed willingly. Interest in the topic was so strong that the immense crowd on hand for the discussion never diminished, even when the discussion ran past its allotted one-hour and a half. Archon George Mims, a panelist from Sarasota, Florida's Gamma Xi chapter, said it is See Forum on A6 Annual awards presented to the disabled and their advocated BY LAYLA FARMER THE CHRONICLE ^ The joy in the room at Ardmore Baptist Church was tangible Tuesday afternoon as eight tots from the Children's Center in Winston-Salem regaled the audience with song. At three and four years of age, the boys and girls had no idea that they were enter milling a gruup uuti will someday be vastly important in their lives. All they knew was that the music was playing and the microphone was up for grabs. "Music is more than performance - it's a therapeutic process for them," explained Executive Director Michael Britt, who oversees the more than 100 children with physi cal and other disabil ities who attend the school. The Children's Center "choir" served as the enter tainment at the annu al awards luncheon hosted by the Winston-Salem Photo by Jaeson Pitt Youngsters from the Special Children's School perform at the ceremony. Mayor's Council for Persons with Disabilities (MCPD). Since its inception in 1948, the MCPD has worked in conjunc tion with the city and other independent organizations to improve the quality of life for people with a variety of different disabilities. "We're here to advocate for people with disabilities, both attitu dinal barriers and physical barriers, that we're trying to break down, basically, showing people what daily life is like when you have a disability," explained longtime volunteer and past MCPD President Beth Bowman. "We want people to understand that all of us are the same - there are more similarities than dissimilarities." Volunteers and members, as the officers are called, advocate for equal rights and access in many arenas, campaigning for everything See Awards on A12 Photos by Layla Fanner Ten-year cancer survivor Barbara Wilson, sealed, center, is flanked by other survivors. Sisters in the Struggle Breast cancer survivors celebrate life BY LAYLA FARMER THE CHRONICLE Outside, the sky was gray and unforgiving, spitting rain drops in every direction, but there was no shortage of color or cheer inside the Village Inn Golf & Conference Center in Clemmons last Thursday after noon. as local women gathered for the Susan G. Komen N.C. Triad Affiliate's Annual Breast Cancer Survivor Celebration Tea:1 A sea of pink-clad ladies in every stage of survivorship con vened at the conference center, united by the invisible thread of a common struggle. "This is just our way of cel ebrating survivorship, raising awareness in the community and just celebrating them for all that they've been through and all that they represent for our community," said Betsey McRae, executive director of the Triad Affiliate. "These women are a living testament to the importance of early diagno sis and the fact that breast cm cer is sur vivable, if it's diag nosed early ... they real ly are the inspira t i o n behind all of the work that we do." McRae About one in eight American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives, McRae says. The tea, which was emceed by Fox 8 Anchor Cindy Farmer, helps to raise awareness about the cause, and pay homage to the brave women who have rallied against the dreaded disease. "Basically, if you're a breast cancer survivor, you're invited," McRae remarked. "A lot of it's very social, it's just a time to get together with old friends and see faces. It's just a very nice party the ladies enjoy very much." No one can deny the severi ty of the disease, yet the tea is intentionally upbeat, McRae says. "Breast cancer is a horrible, ugly, destructive disease and it affects the entire family and the entire community," she com mented. "But when you look around this room, these women are smiling and they're enjoying themselves and they're happy It's just beautiful to me, and very inspirational, very hum bling to see." Mary Ann Ballance served as keynote speaker at this year's See Tea on A13 Native tied to Obama firestorm City-born Andy Sidden delivers prayer at controversial S.C. concert BY TODD LUCK THE CHRONICLE Andy Sidden, a Winston Salem native and South Carolina pastor, delivered the opening prayer Sunday for the "Embrace the Change!" Gospel Concert Tour sponsored by the campaign of presidential hopeful Barrack Obama. Sidden, an openly gay pastor. asked by the cam paign to take part after the concert was criti cized for its musi cal line up, main ly gospel star Donnie McClurkin, who many say has made anti-gay remarks over the years. McClurkin says that he was once a gay man, but was delivered from the lifestyle by God. He now preaches that men can "overcome" homosexu al urges though God. McClurkin has angered many in the gay community with statements like the one he made in an interview with FamilyChristian.com, a seller of Christian books and videos. "It's amazing how we turn a blind eye to the fact that our chil dren are directly influenced by what they see and what society portrays as normal living. Homosexuality has really rav aged our children," McClurkin said. The three day African American gospel tour was designed to raise money and pro mote Obama among religious African-Americans in South Obama Carolina. After the contro v e r s y started, O b a m a issued a statement that said h e "strongly d i s - agree(s)" with McClurkin's views and that he has been consistent in his sup port on gay. lesbian- ami trans gender (GLTG) issues. Obama. in an interview with the The Advocate, a well known gay magazine, said that he wished th# McClurkin had been researched better by his cam paign before he was signed to do the concert. The Obama campaign invit ed Sidden to take part in hopes of smoothing over hurt feelings in the gay community because of McClurkin's involvement. But Sidden's addition started a whole new controversy, with many African- American gay advocates See Sidden on All In Grateful Memory of Our Founders , FlorrieS. Russell and Carl H.Russell, Sr. "Growing and SHU Dedicated to Serve You Better " Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their Support 822 Carl Russell Ave. (at Martin Luther King Or.) Winston-Salem, NC 27101 caw 722-3459 Fax (336) 631-8268 rusfhome <&> hellnouth Jiet
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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