Colorful Observance Photo by Kevin Walker Red ribbons hang outside of the Stevens Center on Fourth Street for the upcom ing World AIDS Day observance on Monday, Dec. I. On that day, from 5:30 - 6 p.m., AIDS Care Service will hold a Reflection S?ryice here. The public is invit ed to take part in the event. Visit slated by author who writes of Cuban upbringing and exile BY LAYLA FARMER THE CHRONICLE As a boy, Dr. Carlos Moore knew nothing but oppression. From the streets and schools of Cuba, where he was ridiculed, beaten and mocked, to his own home, where the he says his mother often showed little more empathy than the streets. "My childhood was drenched in fear and poverty," he related, "it was horrible." As a man, Moore rose up and has since become one of the most prolific civil rights activists of the modern day? participating in movements all " over the globe. If his life story sounds like it was destined for the pages of a book, Moore would grudg ingly agree. His memoir, titled "Pich6n: Race in Revolution in Castro's Cuba," chronicles a lifetime of ups and downs, from imprisonment and forced labor camps in Cuba to the 34 year exile that ensued. The book draws its name, "pich6n" from the stinging slur Moore's countrymen spat at him throughout his youth. The book premiered at the Miami Book Fair International in Miami, Florida earlier this month and was an instant hit with the droves of book lovers in attendance. "I have been getting a very good response so far," he reported. "The books sold out in the first 15 minutes." Moore was born in Central Lugareiio, Cuba, a place he calls "the end of the world," in 1942. "It was a very, very back wards place," he said, "just like if you were living in the (American) South, one of those places where the whites didn't even know the Civil War ended. "I grew up being attacked as a black person, but I was not only a black person, I was a black person whose parents came from the Black Carribbean," he related. "Those people were hated." During the Cuban Civil War in the late 1950s, Moores family fled to America. By this time, Moore, a teenager, had been indoctrinat ed with the values of his oppressors. He loathed the coffee colored skin and African features that had barred him from virtually everything he desired in his young life. / Then he met the woman he credits with changing his life: famed poet Maya Angelou. Angelou, who was sport ing an afro at the time, taught Moore to be proud of his rich cultural heritage and not to accept others' characteriza tions of him. She got him involved in the American Civil Rights Movement, where he met Malcolm X and others whose names were synony mous with the Movement. "She would take me home and talk to me . . . and it started making sense," he remarked. "She told me, 'You should go back to Cuba and join the rev olution (there)' ... and thats' what I did." Over the span of the next Photo courtesy of C. Moore Dr. Carlos Moore has penned, "Pichon: Race in Revolution." nearly five decades, the two became great friends, keeping in touch with heartfelt letters and guiding each other through the dark times in their lives. "Maya is not my friend; she's my mother," Moore said. "She took me under her wing at 16 and never let me go." Admittedly, Moore, who has lived on four continents and countless cities and towns around the world, has seen his share of excitement and per ilous moments, yet he says he was reluctant to write his expe riences down. At the urging of another friend, Alex Haley, best known as the author of "Roots: The Saga of an American Family," Moore finally sat down to write. The book took more than 25 years to complete. "It was the best therapy I ever gave myself in my life," he said with a laugh. Since the Miami premiere, Moore, currently a resident of Brasil, has been touring the United States, giving lectures, interviews and book signings. He will be a guest of Angelou's this Thanksgiving. A special book signing event at Special Occasions Bookstore will coincide with his visit. The Thanksgiving season book signings have become a tradition for Special Occasions, which hosts a dif ferent author each year, says Ed McCarter, who co-owns the store with his wife. Miriam. McCarter says the signings have become a favorite event among his customers, some of whom have already begun to inquire about it. Carlos Moore 's book sign ing event will be held Friday, November 28 from 12 pm.to2 p.m. at Special Occasions Bookstore, 112 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. For more information, call (336) 724 0334. For more information about Moore, visit wwwjdrcarlosmoore .com . News Clips A&T Gospel Choir seeking alumni to record to CD North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University's Fellowship Gospel Choir is seeking for mer members to record a CD for its 40th anniversary. The anniversary celebra tion/recording will take place April 25-26, 2009. The choir needs 400 gospel choir alum ni voices to record the CD. To sign-up or to request additional information, con tact Ron Jones, Alan Bagby or Tonya McCall-Hargett at alumnigc@yahoo.com. Kernersville park receives honor Kernersville Park's Beeson Athletic Complex received recognition from the National Softball Association (NSA) recently. Each year, the NSA chooses one facility that oper ates under NSA guidelines and offers leagues and tour naments while upholding its standards of excellence for this designation. Beeson Park was selected the 2008 NSA Outstanding Park. Frank Crook, Kernersville Parks & Recreation Softball Field Manager and regional NSA affiliate, accepted the award at the NSA national confer ence in Florida. The NSA was established in 1982 by Hugh Cantrell in Lexington, Ky. The full-serv ice organization offers a divi sions of play and a levels of competition for youth and adults and demands the high est levels of integrity and responsibility for their organ ization. Wake students take awards in poster contest Four students from Wake Forest University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences won the top four awards in the second annual UNC Charlotte Graduate Student Poster Competition held on Oct. 28, as part of the seventh annual Charlotte Biotechnology Conference. Two Wake Forest students also finished among the 12 finalists. The first-place finisher was Paulina Siperinski of Toronto, Canada; Second place went to Neelima Sukumar of Ernakulam, Kerala, India; Sriram Ramanan of Chennai. India, and Catherine Ward of Rockfish, N.C. Finishing in the top 12 was Jenna DuMond of Livingston Manor. N Y. Also a finalist was Jip Liu of Yantai, Shandong Province, China. Sierpinski was awarded $1,000, Sukumar won $500, and Ramanan and Ward received $250 each. Williams completes Air Force training Air Force Airman Tarisha S. Williams has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. During the six weeks of training, the airman studied the Air Force mission , organiza tion, core values, and mili tary cus Williams toms and courtesies; per formed drill and ceremony marches, and received physi cal training, rifle marksman ship, field training exercises and special training in human relations. In addition, airmen who complete basic training earn credits toward an associate in applied science degree relat ing through the Community College of the Air Force. She is the granddaughter of Erma Grady of Hunt Club Road, Wilmington, N.C., and sister of Shavon Williams of Winston Salem. Tarisha Williams is a 2008 graduate of R.J. Reynolds High School. Anderson Alumni Association holiday party The AH Anderson Alumni Association is invit ing all Anderson alumni, their family and friends to a festive holiday celebration at the Winston-Salem Urban League. 201 West Fifth Street, on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. The Anderson Alumni Association has great reason to celebrate another success ful year of preserving the legacy of historically black high schools and charitable community service projects, including an after school mentoring program at Diggs Elementary School and a Big 4 Scholarship Fund at Winston-Salem State University. Association President, Theodis Foster said "As we bring this year to a close we have an ambitious agenda for '09 to serve the community and make local efforts to assist the new administration in reaching the goals of creat ing employment opportuni ties, home ownership stabi lization, and quality educa tion for all children." The holiday event will feature good food, old school music, dancing and fellow ship with classmates and friends. For information contact Foster at 336-767-8628. Christmas play The Mount Zion Baptist Church Drama Guild will present, its first annual Musical Christmas Production "You Ought To Be Ashamed of Yourself," written, produced and direct ed by Janice Price, on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. It is about two sisters with opposite personalities who discover the true meaning of Christmas. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free. Mount Zion Baptist is located at 950 File St. For more information, call 336-682-2281 or 336 722-2325. life around. " Amanda White - Class of 2008 - c ? ? YcHv^r : i Jnj>itcl You're Invited... to learn more about our ?vw/l.E RATED program! When you enroll in the ExcelLtMKlWD program at the Fleer Center for Adult Education, you may have the opportunity to earn your degree in as little u two years - meaning you're on your way to a better job or graduate school more quickly and affordably! Earn an ?>?y/leratf.d decree in: ? Communication ? Not- For- Profit Management ? Sociology Program Benefits O ? High-growth, career-enhancing areas of study that hold their value even in tough economic times ? Outstanding faculty mentors and committed staff are ready to help you succeed! ? Affordable courses plus financial aid just for Fleer Center students Classes Starting Soon - Apply Now! RS. Don't need or want the fast track? Ask about our wide range of programs for adults ages 23 and up! SALEM COLLEGE for Adult Education JUEM.*Dl'/FI Ff.tW SNTSR (y)6) Til -1669

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