Basketball player Randy Smith dies
NORWICH, Connecticut (AFP) - Randy Smith, who
once owned the National Basketball Association record for
consecutive games played, died
Thursday at the emergency room of
Backus Hospital. He was 60.
Smith was a star small forward in
the 1470s tor the Buffalo Braves, play
ing from 1971 through 1983. He aver
aged 16.7 points. 4.6 assists and 3-.7
rebounds.
Smith appeared in 906 NBA games
in a row to set an all-time NBA
"Ironman" mark before AC. Green
appeared in 1.192 consecutive games
from 1 986 through 200 1 .
Smith
After seven seasons with Buffalo before the team moved to
San Diego, Smith went on to play for Cleveland. New York and
Atlanta.
Charges dropped in dragging death
DALLAS (AP) - Murder charges were dropped at the pros
ecution's request last week in the dragging death of a black man
in east Texas, and the two white men who had been accused of
killing him were released from jail.
Shannon Finley and Charles Crostley were released in
Paris, Texas, after a judge granted the special prosecutor's
motion to dismiss the case. The two men had been charged with
fatally striking 24-year-old Brandon McClelland with a pickup
truck in September following a late-night beer run the three
friends had made to Oklahoma.
The case was hampered by a lack of eyewitnesses and phys
ical evidence. Last month, a gravel truck driver gave a sworn
statement acknowledging he might have accidentally run over
McClelland.
"After investigation, it h.as been determined this case should
be dismissed in the interests of justice." special prosecutor'
Toby Shook said. "The decision is about the state of the evi
dence in the case as it exists today."
Shook said the investigation will continue. The gravel truck
driver is unlikely to face charges.
The dismissal was met with incredulity by civil rights
activists who had protested how county authorities handled the
case.
"His body was dragged, and nobody gets charged?" said
Brenda Cherry, a Paris resident and the president of Concerned
Citizens for Racial Equality. "Even if a trucker came forward,
that's all it takes? Even the trucker's not charged?"
Evers' family praises pavilion honor
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The widow of slain civil rights
activist Medgar Evers fQught back tears last week as she and
dozens of others gathered at an airport pavilion featuring the
words and images of the NAACP field secretary gunned down
46 years ago.
Myrlie Evers- Williams has spent a lifetime reminding oth
ers that her husband died while fighting for racial equality and
said she was thankful for efforts to keep his legacy alive. She
spoke at Jackson-Evers International Airport. Mississippi's
largest, named in his honor.
Medgar Evers was a promoter of social change who was
killed in the driveway of his Jackson home on June 12, 1963.
"I just want to thank you for what you have done - for
remembering Medgar in this way because keeping his memory
I alive has been foremost in what I have done in my life," Evers
Williams, 76. said as she stood in the Medgar Evers Pavilion at
the airport. "Two things: keeping his memory alive and taking
care of his children, everything else has come after that."
She was joined by .their children and grandchildren at an
open house tor a pavilion dedicated to his life. The pavilion was
unveiled last week and the ceremony was one of several events
scheduled to coincide with the 46th anniversary of Evers' death.
* Byron De La Beckwith was convicted of killing Evers and
sentenced to life in prison in 1994. more than 30 years after he
shot Evers in the back with a rifle. Beckwith died in 2001 .
Connecticut apologizes for slavery
HARTFORI), Conn. ( AP) - Connecticut became the sec
ond northern state to apologize for slavery, segregation and
other racist policies its lawmakers once condoned after a unan
imous vote last week by the state Senate.
The resolution expresses "profound contrition" for the
General Assembly's role in perpetuating slavery and other prac
Harp
tiees. The House approved it last week.
New Jersey last year became the first
northern state to apologize for slavery.
Five other states - Alabama, Florida,
Maryland. North Carolina and Virginia -
have approved similar measures.
Slavery was practiced in Connecticut
in the 17th. 18th and 19th centuries
before it was abolished in 1848. About
5,10() slaves - or about 3 percent of the
population - lived in the Connecticut
colony in the mid- 1770s.
"I believe the brand of slavery still
exists throughout the African-American
community to this day, so I believe an apology and a recogni
tion of the impact of slavery ... is something that will go a long
way in making things different." said Democratic state Sen.
Toni Harp, a black legislator from New Haven.
The resolution includes a provision to emphasize the: apolo
gy is not meant to provide grounds for reparation claims, law
suits or other legal actions.
Connecticut was an early leader in the mid-l8(X)s abolition
movement, but only after nearly three centuries of allowing and
profiting from slavery within its own borders.
Connecticut legislators rejected emancipation bills in 1777.
1779 and 1780. and its new state constitution in 1818 specifi
cally denied blacks the right to vote.
The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Ernest H.
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
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Winston-Salem. NC 27102-1636
First Lady inspires D .C . graduates
BY DOROTHY ROWLEY
\l KO MHERIC W M ?sc u'l ks
WASHINGTON
(NNPA) - First Lady
Michelle Obama recently
told a high school graduating
class in the District of
Columbia that she could
relate to their anxieties as
they prepare to tackle their
next round of educational
- ? ?? ?
goals.
In commencement activi
ties held June 3 at Howard
University, Obama shared
with the Washington
Mathematics Science
Technology Public Charter
High School Class of 2009
her own fears about starting
classes at Ivy League
Princeton University.
In doing so. she assured
her attentive audience that
any doubts they have about
how well they would perform
in college were ni)t unusual.
"For those of y6u who
may be doubting and" ques
tioning yourselves - maybe,
[because] you may be just
ready to roll said Obama.
"But if you are. trust me 1
know how you feel. I can
assure you you're more than
ready so get to work, ami
congratulations."
All 98 of- the school's
graduating seniors are
attending college.
- Class member Jasmine
Williams wrote a letter ti> the
Obanras inviting the first
lady - or the president - to
speak.
"Where we come from,
being a young minority
means we have little chance
to succeed." Jasmine wrote.
"The world already has a
predetermined thought that
our generation is full of
criminals."
She continued. "There are
a lot of us that live above the
influence and strive to be our
best." >
Obama also took the
opportunity to pitch the
Supreme Court nomination
of Judge Sonia Sotomayor.
who if confirmed, becomes
the first Hispanic woman to
See Obama on A 1 1
UPI Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg
Graduate Martina I'artee stands next to First Lady Michelle Obama during the com
mencement ceremony for Washington Mathematics Science Technology Public Charter
High School.
Biden honors late Rep. Tubbs Jones
BY DENA POTTER
the Associated press
WILLIAMSBURG, Va.
- America is at "one of those
inflection points in history,"
where the decisions being
made will influence genera
tions to come. Vice
President Joe Biden told
members of the black caucus
and their spouses Saturday.
Biden said the problems
facing America are immedi
ate. and that the administra
tion can't pick and choose
which
issues to
tackle.
"We
don't do
anything
i n
Pakistan,
it careens
off a
cliff. Wc
don't do
anything
Tubhs Jones
in Iraq, we don't do anything
with Iran... Wc don't do any
thing in energy, it's not like
things aren't going to get
worse. We don't do anything
on the environment, it does
n't mean it doesn't get
worse," he said.
"The downside's big.
man." he said. "We miss, we
miss a generational opportu
11 it \ "
Biden talked about
progress that's been made -
especially in race relations ?
during a fundraiser for the
Congressional Black Caucus
Foundation and the
Congressional Black Caucus
Spouses at Kingsmill Resort
& Spa.
He spoke of watching
Wilmington, Del., go up in
flames after Martin Luther
King Jr. was assassinated
and how the National Guard
protected parts of the city
for months, including a train
station in a black neighbor
hood. Then he talked about
leaving that same train sta
tion on his way to be sworn
in as vice president, and the
reaction of the people who
lined the journey holding
their infants high so they
could witness history.
the late Rep. Stephanie
Tubbs Jones of Ohio, who
died in August of a brain
hemorrhage.
He described Tubbs
See Biden on All
"Don't tell me there is no
progress," he said the rau
cous cheers. "Don't tell me
there is anything beyond our
capabilities."
Biden also paid tribute to
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BOB MARGOLIN
wwwJwsp.org
CRISIS CONTRpL MINIS RY
STRING I HI M NO Or R ( OMMl M71
? ? ?
One Hour At A Time.
"After I retired as a teacher in the Winston-Salem/
Forsyte County schools, I wanted to volunteer in my
community. 1 really hadn't intended to be ?CCM
interviewer, hut after orientation, I was inspired. I saw
that this was where I could use my skills to help the most.
I interview clients facing financial difficulties who need
assistance with food, heating, fuel oil, medications, rent/
mortgage payments or utility bills. The most rewarding
part is seeing the expressions on the clients' faces when
I say that we can help them. That makes my day! I feel
blessed to be involved with Crisis Control Ministry."
Barbara A. Steele
Retired School Teacher
Crisis Control Ministry Interviewer
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