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FORSYTH CCOTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
660 W 5TK ST
? WIN'STON SALE^ 27_0_-270S
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C
THURSDAY, October 1, 2009
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Photo by Kevin Walker.
Rev. Carlton Eversley speaks as Chief Scott Cunningham
sits to his left.
Forum finds
chief and
minister at
odds over DA
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONIC ! I
There were tense
moments between the chief
of the Winston-Salem Police
Department and the president
of the city's Ministers
Conference during a forum
held to discuss racial diversi
ty- _
The. Rev.
Carlton Eversley,
pastor of
Dellabrook
Presbyterian
Church and the
leader of the minis
ters' group, asked
two of his fellow
panelists at last
week's Beyond
Soul and Salsa community
discussion to joiiv the
Minsters Conference and sev
eral other grassroots organi
zations in condemning recent
comments by Forsyth County
District Attorney Tom Keith,
who told a local publication
that statistically African
Americans are more likely to
commit crimes.
While neither Police
Chief Scott Cunningham nor
Winston-Salem City Manager
Lee Garrity strongly rebuked
Keith's statement, Garrity
tepidly challenged them, stat
ing that anyone could use sta
tistics to pretty much make
any point he or she wanted to.
Keith
Cunningham chose to stay
clear of the issue altogether.
"I don't know what he did
or did not say," said the chief,
who added that the forum -
held each year by the city's
Human Relations
Commission to address issues
of importance to blacks and
Hispanics - was not the
appropriate venue to
discuss the matter.
What Keith actu
ally said to Yes!
Weekly reporter
Keith Barber has
been a subject of
contention. The
Greensboro- based
publication was
forced to clarify its
original story, which
quoted Keith as saying that
blacks by "instinct" were
more prone to commit
crimes. The DA had actually
said based on "statistics."
Either way. Eversley said,
the statement was racist and
dangerous coming from the
man who single-handedly
determines who is prosecuted
in Forsyth County and to
what extent. Since the Police
Department works in hand
in-hand with the District
Attorney's Office, Eversley
told Cunningham that his
silence on the subject was a
missed opportunity to "set a
See Forum on A5
Johnson says Montgomery
had lots of help, advantages
BYT. KEA'IN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
City Council Member
Joycelyn Johnson is bowing
out gracefully but not silent
ly
She spoke out publicly
last week about her loss to
Derwin Montgomery in the
Sept. 8 Democratic Primary.
Although Johnson was
the four-term incumbent, she
said Montgomery, a senior at
Winston-Salem State
University, had advantages in
the primary that she and the
other two Democrats in the
race did not. Her comments
Johnson
came last Thursday evening
at the Gateway YWCA dur
ing Beyond Soul and Salsa -
a forum held by the city's
Montgomery
Human Relations
Commission each year to
address issues pertinent to
blacks and Hispanics.
WSSU junior Carolyn *
Merritf brought up the issue
of the recent primary in
Johnson's East Ward, and the
fact some have criticized
Montgomery for orchestrat
ing his win entirely by
appealing to his fellow stu
dents - who turned out in
droves to support him.
Merritt said the criticism was
hypocritical since so many
people applauded WSSU stu
dents just a few months ago
when they clogged polls to
vote for Barack Obama.
Seemingly, when Merritt
made her statements, she did
See East Ward oh A1Q
Ma Vance recalls a
century of living
BY LAY LA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE ?
Ope hundred years ago, when Cleo
Vance was born, the world was a very dif
ferent place. The first Lincoln penny had
just been minted and workers in Panama
had just begun pouring the concrete for the
Panama Canal. There were only 10 miles
of paved roads in the continental US. and
lynchings accounted for more deaths than
automobile accidents. The average worker
took home less than $1 3 for 59 hours of
work, and the life expectancy for African
Americans was only 33.
Looking back, Vance says she never
imagined she would defy the odds so stun
ningly, by making it all the way into the
next century.
"I was just happy when I was younger,
and I just enjoyed life," she related. "I
didn't know how things would end up; 1
just thought I would wait and see."
Despite growing up in a treacherous
era for African-Americans, Vance, who
celebrated her centennial birthday on Sept.
25, remembers her childhood fondly. She
spent her formative years in Anderson,
S.C.. Her father, who passed away when
Vance was a youngster, built bridges - lit
erally.
The family believes he contracted
pneumonia from the long hours he spent
standing in the water during the builds.
See Vance on A 1 1
Cleo Vance with her daughter, Pearlie.
# Phoio toy Lay la- Farmer
City of Sisterly Love
Mi ?? ?I I
Photo by Todd Luck
Mayor Allen J nines poses with Mayor Alexandru Ambros of
Ungheni, Moldova on Monday before the two loured some of down
town's hot spots. Ungheni is one of Winston-Salem's Sister Cities.
The nation of Moldova lies between Romania and the Ukraine.
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Men and women tell how agency turned their lives around
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
The Bethesda Center for the
Homeless celebrated its 22nd
anniversary on Sept. 23 with a mod
est, poignant ceremony.
Bethesda was founded as a day
shelter in 1987 and is still the only
shelter in town that provides a day
time sanctuary for the homtless.
Bethesda has seen many changes
over the last two decades. It is now
a night shelter as well, with the
capacity to house up to 100 men and
women. Substance abuse treatment
programs, case management and
other supportive services have been
added to help clients get back on
their feet.
See Bethesda on A5
? ?? ? Photos by I .ayla Farmer
Goler Memorial's Joyce Henry (second from left ) poses with Bethesda
Center success stories Tonya Mack, Anthony Williams and Mary Holman.
T)ON'T
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