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Vol. XXXIV No. 20
THURSDAY, January 24, 2008
Local man
takes hoop
dreams
abroad
-See Page B1
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United
Way more ?
than meets
goal
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MLK Day
breakfast
draws
Ministers' Conferenceof
Winston-Salem & V "icinifv
2008
Win't Gonna Study War No More"
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^ Photo by Jaeson Fin
Marchers make their way to the Benton Convention Center for the Annual MLK Noon Hour Commemoration program. v
Not Sleeping on The Dream
Actor says MLK's
work must be
completed
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE '
The rainbow of faces that
populated Wait Chapel on the
campus of Wake Forest
University Monday evening
Would have made the Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. proud.
This was, of course, the point of
the gathering. Since 2001, the
prestigious and predominantly
white institution has joined
forces with the historically
black Winston-Salem State
University, to honor the memory
of the civil rights icon as a cohe
sive unit.
"We gather not only to cele
brate his life, but to celebrate his
dream," commented WSSU
Chancellor Dr. Donald Reaves.
"It was Dr. King's desire that
social harmony become a guid
See Burton on A12
1 ^ WFU Photo by Nick BibUdeli*
Actor LeVar Burton speaks in Wait Chapel on Monday night.
Challenges addressed at
Noon Hour service
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. s
lann/ill IIIQP t%SXn4"\r*A/"f
ltgavj waa livnuiwu
through speech and
action Monday at the
28th Annual MLK
Noon Hour
Commemoration.
King's historic ,
fight for justice was
demonstrated by 'hun
dreds of marchers
who made the annual
trek to the Benton
Convention Center,
where the commemoration was
held, from Mt. Zion Baptist
Church. Many carried signs and
banners calling for the release
of Kalvin Michael Smith, a
local black man who was con
victed and imprisoned in the
mid-90s for the brutal beating of
Jill Marker, a white woman, at
Evans
Silk Plant Forest. Questions
have been raised about Smith's
guilt and how the case was han
died. Local leaders
i:l.~ nj r*
Ilivt
Representative
Larry Womble and
Darryl Hunt, himself
a victim of wrongful
conviction, were
among the marchers
demanding that the
City * CounciJ
appoint an outside
committee to look
into the matter.
"The lawyer at
the Duke institute has said that
there's evidence that he's inno
cent," said Womble, referring to
Duke University's Innocence
Project where law students look
into wrongful conviction
claims. "And what we're doing
is, in the same way we did
See Noon Hour on All
Easing the
Struggle
Group working to open doors
for black gays and lesbians
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
TaMeicka Clear knows firsthand how hard it can be to come
Photo by Layla Parmer
TaMeicka Clear
out oi tne ciosei.
"My coming out was
very hard; I was 18 when I
officially came out and my
mother put me out of the
house," she revealed.
Clear, now 25, spent
nearly two years on the
streets after telling her
mother she was a lesbian,
and like many in the same
gender loving (SGL) com
munity, she has suffered
considerable criticism for
her lifestyle. Yet she says
she would do it all again.
"I just ... refused to go
back in; once I set foot out, I
See PFLAG on All
School honors its former leader
Logan Burke's
esteemed career
included 12 years as
Cook principal
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Cook Elementary School
welcomed an array of city offi
cials, community leaders and
former educators to its realm on
the morning of Jan. 16 for a
naming ceremony and recep
tion at the school's media cen
ter.
The media center now bears
the name of Logan Burke, a
former principal of the school
and prominent community
member.
"This man has given a lot of
service to this community,"
said School Board Member Vic
Johnson, who was instrumental
in getting the center named for
See Burke on A12
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Logan Burke with his wife, Mayor Pro Tempore Vivan Burke, his son son Judge Todd Burke
and one of his grandchilaren, Logan II.
I 1 1 ~
In Grateful Memory of Our
Founders,
Florrie S. Russell and
Carl H. Russell, Sr.
"Growing and Still Dedicated to Serve You Helm'
Uttggell fflmtmtl ;Momf
Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their Support
? ? ? > - .
822 Carl Russell Ave.
(?t Martin Luther King Dr.)
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
(33?) 722-3459
l ax (336) 631-8268
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