Vol. XXXVIII No. 7
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
THURSDAY, October 13, 2011
St. Aug
to have
on-campus
football
-See Page BIO
School
opens
outdoor
classroom
-See Page A3
Festival
draws
many
seniors
- See Hag <
Another Place to Prosper
Liberty Street home to latest Center
BY LAYLA FARMER
I 111 CHRONICLE
Folks who live along the
Liberty Street Corridor and
in the surrounding area now
have a new plaee to turn for
financial services and
employment assistance,
thanks to the creation of
Prosperity Center North,
which was slated to celebrate
its Grand Opening yesterday.
Born of a partnership
among the United Way,
Goodwill Industries,
Consumer Credit
Counseling Services and
others, the Prosperity Center
is a free resource for any and
everybody in the community
who desires assistance,
regardless of income. The
Center is the second of its
kind to serve the Winston
Salem Community. The
original Center, now known
as Prosperity Center South,
opened at its location on
Waughtown Street in 2008
and has provided assistance
Photo b\ l^tsla r? tr
Prosperity Center employees from left: Career Connections Specialist
Marilyn Robinson, Bryant King, Jason Hall and Tanika Hawkins (South
location).
to close to 4,000 clients to
date, said Coordinator Tanika
Hawkins,
"I feel like it's been very
successful. The combina
tion of vocational and the
financial literacy is a winner
every time," Hawkins, a
mother of four, said of
Prosperity Center South.
"...Where they ean go from
there is pretty limitless."
Both Hawkins, who is
See Center on A12
Still Fight Left in Her
As lady champ contemplates
retirement, Ewell turns her attention
to helping others
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
When World Champion Boxer Carlette "The Truth"
Ewell is preparing for a fight, she draws on memories
of her past. She dredges up the hardships she's expe
rienced. from the setbacks of her childhood to the
physical and mental abuse she's suffered at the hands of
loved ones. There are also images of being sent to The
Children's Home as a teen because her adoptive parents
became ill. She also thinks about her life as a profes
sional boxer - the meager salary she makes in compar
ison to her male counterparts - and before long, she's
mad. really mad.
"The majority of the time, you just be so doggone
upset that you just want to demolish whoever gets in
the ring with you," said the 40-year-old city native.
Ewell, a domestic violence survivor and the the co
owner of Triad Boxing and Fitness Club on Vargrave
Street, says boxing has been an unlikely refuge from
the anger, helplessness and frustration she has experi
enced. The sport has also transformed her.
"I'm just so much more peaceful now," said Ewell,
a peer support specialist by trade. "Now. I love me.
At one point and time, I knew nothing about how to
love me ... that's so important."
She hopes to use the Club, which she and her train
er Eddie Gregg opened earlier this year, to instill a
sense of empowerment and self-worth in those who
walk through its doors.
See Ewell on A12
Photo by Layla Farmer
Carlette Ewell shows off some of the many belts she has
won .
State Rep. Brandon speaks at a community event.
History-making
lawmaker to
show his PRIDE
States first openly gay black legislator will
be grand nuirshall of gay rights parade
BY t.AYl.A FARMER
THE CHRONIC ! 1
When he serves Saturday
as grand marshal I of the
PRIDE 2011 parade. State
Rep. Marcus Brandon will
simply be taking what many
see as his rightful
_i ... ? i_ . l .i
piucc ai me nam
of the gay rights
movement.
During his
2010 campaign for
the N.C. House,
the Greensboro
native pledged to
champion the
I I I I J 'V M I (I I I I
to his predomi
nanny a mean
American Guilford
County constituency
issues like programs for ex
of fenders, education reform
and solutions to alleviate
poverty. Brandon - the
state's first openly gay black
male member of the General
Assembly and its only cur
rent openly gay member
did not focus on his sexual
orientation, but the 35 year
old says he was also careful
not to deny it.
"It was a hard choice to
make," he said of coming
out. which he did publicly at
the start of his campaign.
"But at the end of the day, I
felt a responsibility to the
younger folks who are still
struggling with these (sexu
ality) issues. I felt it was
important that I didn't live in
that shadow, that I didn't live
in the closet if I became a
public figure."
Once he took
oil ice last
N o v e ni her.
Brandon, a
Democrat. found
himself unwitting
ly at the forefront
of the gay marriage
debate as lawmak
ers tussled over the
J a mis
3 uciense 01
Marriage Act.
which the
Republican-controlled
General Assembly recently
passed. State voters will now
decide next year if North
Carolina should alter its con
stitution to definitively clas
sify marriage as an act for
between a man and a woman.
"It became Very personal
to me," Brandon said of the
gay marriage debate. "It's
not really about marriage;
it's about dignity and it's
about human rights, whether
you plan to be married or
not... It's an injustice, and
that's where the fight came
to me. because I know what
that LGBT youth feels like."
See I'KIDK on AI2
Red-Hat Affair
Popular social group meets in Winston
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
More than 200 women from all over the state converged
on Winston-Salem last weekend for an event devoted simply
to having fun.
The Red Hat Society's Tenth Annual Funvention was held
Friday through Sunday at the Sundance Plaza Hotel. The
Society is a social club for women 50 and older with 70.000
chapters in 30 countries. It's known for the fancy and some
times outrageous purple and red outfits - complete with their
signature red hats - that its members don.
Pearline Howard, the queen mother (or president) of the
Winston-Salem Ladies of Elegance Red Hat chapter, said the
organization is so popular because the ladies know how to let
loose.
"It's just a bunch of ladies who get together, enjoy life
and have fun," said Howard, whose chapter hosted the
statewide convention.
Sec Hatters on A 1 1
Photo by Todd Luck
From left: Red Hat CEO Debra Granich, Ladies of
Elegance Queen Mother Pearline Howard and Jo
Elliot, Red Hat manager of member experience.
A Furry Friend
Pbo?o by Jaeson Put
Catharine I. owe gels chummy with a friendly,
furry character at the Dixie Classic Fair on
Sunday. Lowe was among the hundreds who
enjoyed The Chronicle's Gospel Fest at the
Fair. The concerts drew large crowds and fea
tured some of the area's top gospel acts.
Spend it here.
Keep it here.
BUY LOCAL FIRST! 2
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