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17 120409 1 5 -DIGIT 27.0.
NORTH CAROLINA ROW
FORSYTH CTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
660 W 5TH ST
WINSTON SALD-! NC 27.01-2755
THURSDAY, August 6, 2009
First
IN
WHAT?
; .. ; ,
County earns dubious
distinction for STI spike
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Winston-Sajem/Forsyth County is used to
leading the way.
We spawned the nation's very first local
Patricia Toney
based Arts
Council in
1949; and
more than 200
years ago,
Saleni College
became the
first education
al institution
for women in
the United
States: and. of
course, we are
tops in black
theater, as this
week's
National Black
T h e a t r e
Festival
( N B T F )
proves.
But don't
expect to see
the county's
latest top dis
tinction in glossy tourism brochures. Forsyth
County now leads the state in verified syphilis
infections, with numbers surpassing even larg
er counties like Mecklenburg, Wake and
Guilford.
"That is not what we want to be No. I for,"
See STIs on A8
Grassroots
effort launched
to help Obama
move agenda
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Organizing for America (OFA) has arrived
in North Carolina to sign-up advocates for the
healthcare reform fight that President Obama
and most Democrats are facing.
OFA is the
the successor
of Obama for
America - the
successful
nationwide
push that pro
pelled him to
the White
House. OFA
wants to be a
grassroots
movement to
support the
president 's
policies,
which art
topped by his
efforts to offer
affordable
healthcare to
every
Lindsay Siler
American. OFA chapters exist in 41 states. It
has only taken root in North Carolina in the
last four weeks.
State Director Lindsay Siler is on a listening
tour of the state. She stopped at Emmanuel
Baptist Church, where about 50 people were on
See OKA on A8
Photo bv kf vm \^lkcx
200V Kational
Mack Theatre
Festival
organizers ,
celebrities
and fans join
together
Monday to
sing "Lift
Every Voice,"
the black
national
anthem.
ne Ourtat" U
2009 National Black Theatre Festival starts in earnest
Photo by I .a via Farmer
Celebrity Co-Chair Ted Lange welcomes festival-goers.
BY LAYLA FARMER AND T KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE V V' ' ?- ; ' ?;
The Twin City shed its small town feel this week, if only temporarily,
to become what is known as "Black Theatre Holy Ground."
The National Black Theatre Festival, the biennial event that earned
the city its illustrious nickname, started off with a hang Monday, as fes
tival organizers, performers and guests gathered to begin the celebration.
For many in the theatre world, the NBTF has become a can't-miss
event, a reunion of sorts that draws many of theater's best and brightest
black minds.
The festival has earned a strong reputation as a place to see and be
seen since its inception 20 years ago. as is evidenced in the new. curious
faces that flock to the city each time it is staged. This year, those new
faces included Evelyn Coker and several of her friends and colleagues.
The group of South Carolina women were in the Triad to attend a gather
ing of regional Community Development Corporation officials in
Greensboro. They saw a flier about the NBTF in their hotel and immedi
ately drove over on Monday night.
Sec NBTF on A 12
No Laughing
Matter
Kim Wayans showing that she's
not limited to comedy
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE 1
When it comes to writing. Kim Wayans is
a jack of all trades. Wayans, 47, started out as
an actress, but her ventures of late have been
far more diverse
than that of the
average thespian.
The former
"In Living
Color" star has
stretched her
wings in recent
years, serving as
a producer, direc
tor, and writer for
the ABC comedy
"My Wife and
Kids," starring
her brother,
Damon.
"I've sur
prised myself; I
thought I was
just going to be
this little
Kim Wayans
actress." Wayans joked. "Who knows what
I'll do before it's over."
While she has appeared numerous times
Sec Wayans on At I
A Legend Speaks
44 Imitation of Life" has earned Moore icon status
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Ask Juanita Moore about
her storied show business
career, and the names of leg
ends will begin to slip from
her lips as causally as if she
was talking about the Average
Joe around the corner.
"I got started by Marlon
(Brando - that is)," she said
Tuesday afternoon while
seated comfortably in her
hotel room. " I was working
at an after hours club ... and
he would come there ... he
liked the chicken. He encour
aged me to act."
Her big break came in
1949 when she landed a role
(with just a single line) in the
El ia Kazan film "Pinky,"
which starred two great
Ethels - Barry more and
Waters. Moore worked
steadily after that, but there
were no breakout roles for
black actresses.
"All we did at that time
was bring in a tray - that was
it!" she said of the industry 's
insistence that blacks only
play the hired help.
But whatever role she had
Juanila Moore's film career began nearly 60 years ago.
to play. Moore played it with
passion and meaning.
Ironieally. it was a role as a
housekeeper that catapulted
her career to new heights
Moore was in her late Ms
when she was east as Annie
Johnson in the 1959 film
"Imitation of Life." in which
she played the mother of a
light-skinned daughter
unwilling to accept being
black. Moore earned a Best
Supporting Actress Oscar
nomination for the role,
becoming just the fourth
African-American at that
time to receive an Academy
Award nomination.
Moore Mtd the role '
almost never happened for
her.
"They didn't want me.
They wanted Mahalia
Jackson for the part." said
Moore, who was friends w ith
the gospel singer.
After Jackson insisted to
producers that she was a
singer not an actress, atten
tion turned to Moore
See Moore on A 10
'DON'T
PASS
'the buck;
BUY LOCAL