^ , ? -
iHURSDAY, February 21, 2008
Vol. XXXIV No. 24
a
" Gainey
I feeling
lucky for
tourney
?See Page Bl
Chuck D
shares
some
knowledge
Colorful
events will
raise AIDS
dollars
Former
resident
locked in
legal battle
Patrick Thompson
is suing Christian
college for ?
discrimination
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE ?
A local man has sued
Harding University, a
Christian
liberal
arts col
lege in
Searcy,
Ark.,
accusing
t h e
school of
discrimi
n a t i n g
^ainst
him
because
he's African- American.
Patrick Thompson, a
native of Georgia, lived in
Winston-Salem for nearly two
decades before moving to
Arkansas in 2004 to attend
Harding, which is affiliated
with the Church of Christ.
Thompson was a member of
Carver Road Church of Christ
during his years in Winston
Salem.
The two-year-old lawsuit
revolves around Thompson's
actions with Sha "Vivian"
Yin, a female Harding student
from China- Thompson, who
was majoring in bible and
ministry and psychology,
aspired to minister in China,
so he says he befriended
Chinese students at Harding.
He regularly gave Chinese
students rides to an African
American church where he
was interning.
One of those students. Yin,
spent a holiday break at
Thompson's off-campus
apartment, because, according
to the suit, she had nowhere
else to go. Thompson said he
allowed Yin to stay at his
apartment after getting per
mission for the stay from
Yin's hall director. Harding
University forbids students of
the , opposite sex from
overnight stays together with
out permission.
See Suit on A4
WSSU Photo by Garrett Gams
Dr. Marco Polo Hernandez Cuevas lectures .
e
Professor: Some
Hispanics deny
their African roots
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
The rift between Hispanics and African
Americans in this country has been widely
publicized and analyzed for years. But the
two divergent groups have more in common
than they realize, according to Dr. Marco
Polo Hernandez Cuevas, an associate profes
sor of Spanish at North Carolina Central
University.
"The fact that we are not communicating
is because we don't know that we have a
common history," said Cuevas, who has
authored three books on the subject of
African influence in Mexican society. "This
work is meant to recover ... the memory that
has been lost in Mexico."
Cuevas, a native of Mexico City, spoke to
a group of students and faculty members at
WSSU Wednesday morning, as part of the
institution's ongoing Joseph N. Patterson
Lecture and Assembly Series. He schooled
the audience on the misconceptions many
Hispanics, particularly Mexicans, have about
blacks and their adamant denial of what he
asserts is an important component of their
ancestry. >
"That Africans were brought to Mexico is
now known," he said, disputing the largely
accepted myth that only a few Africans
entered the country during its formative
years.
"Historians in the last 15 years have doc
umented that the majority of Africans
brought here in the 16th and 17th centuries
came to Mexico. By the mid- 17th Century,
Mexico had the largest African population in
the continent."
^An infamous 15th century political figure
by the name of Josevas Coselos, whom he
" See Cuevas on A4
The Blues and Schools
Guy Davis uses his voice and
guitar to give unique lessons
BY I,AYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
The children clapped their hands and
swayed in time to the strands of music that
flowed from bluesman Guy Davis' guitar.
They listened with rapt attention as he told
tales of life in America long ago and laughed
out loud as he enticed
them to reenact the labor
of the old days, "chop
ping" imaginary logs
with invisible axes and
singing all the while.
"The thing I like
about this is I can teach
by entertaining instead of
lecturing because who
... . _ t _ ? -
I warns 10 near a lecture /
James quipped Davis, who flew
in from New York last
week to perform for area children and other
locals. "And audiences in this age group ...
are hungry to know things, very hungry."
Interspersed in his music were tidbits of
knowledge about black history and culture,
which he shared with the students.
"Blues contains the cultural DNA of my
people ... and also to a larger extent, of this
entire country," he said.
Winter weather up north prevented Davis
from making his original arrival date of
See Davis on A14
Photo* by Layla Firmer
Musician Guy Davis performs at Gibson Elementary School last week.
A Name Worth Honoring
Photo by Kevin Walker
Longtime city bus driver Clark Campbell, with his wife,
Christine, was honored Saturday. See page B7 for details.
Obama fever spreading through city
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Dr. John Johnson has never voted a day in
his life.
"I didn't believe that anyone that has
come (along) so far really deserved my
vote," commented the 54-year-old Associate
Dean of Winston-Salem State University's
School of Health Sciences, "and I didn't want
to vote just to vote."
The 2008 election, and the race for the
Democratic Presidential nomination in par
ticular, has Johnson singing a far different
tune.
'"I heard a speech by Mr. (Barack)
Obama, and I said, 'Wow, I've got to do
something to help this guy get elected," said
Johnson, who also owns Dr. J's House of
Soul Food on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
And with that, the one-time political athe
ist hit the ground running.
See Obama on A1S
Photo- by Layla
Farmer
Rep.
E a r I i n e
P a r m o n
and Dr. J's
Head Chef
Floyd
Davis pose
with one of
the Obama
t-shirts that
are for sale
at the
restaurant.
In Grateful Memory of Our
Founders,
Florrie S. Russell and
Carl H. Russell, Sr.
'
"Growing and Still Dedicated to Serve You Better'
3Russell ffltmiral ffiome
Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their S upport
?