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