Photos by Todd Luck
Nicholas Brown dazzles the crowd with his voice.
St. Philips
from pane A 1
ended. Aaron imagined the great celfcbration that must have
taken plaee that day as blaeks learned that "the devil had been
handcuffed and heaven was in charge."
He said he could still feel the jubilation of that day.
"I can still feel the presence of the power of the people in
ffiis place." said Aaron. "Their power; their presence and their
spirits are still standing strong after a 150 years."
Rev. Prince Rivers of United Metropolitan Missionary
Church talked about an expansion that took place at the
church in I8W that added space for Sunday School classes.
The space was also used to teach reading, writing and arith
metic. Just a few decades earlier, education would' ve been
Rev. Donald Jenkins speaks.
forbidden for blacks.
" E d u c a I ion
became a powerful
tool to liberate the
minds of those whose
bodies were shack
led." said Rivers.
Rev. Donald
Jenkins of St. Paul
United Methodist
Church addressed the
congregation's tough
decision to leave the
Old Salem site in
1952. as they faced an
aging building and
declining member
ship.
"The church chose
to be a movement
rather than a monu
ment." Jenkins said.
Dr. Cedric
Rodney, who was
pastor at St.. Philips from 1968-1976 and again from 1984
2003. was honored during the ceremony. Rodnev was the
church's first ordained pastor of African decent .
Dr. Patricia Bailey-Jones, founder of Master's Touch
Ministries International, gave the Descendant's Charge.
Bailey-Jones can trace her roots back to St. Philips for more
than a century. Her ancestor Wesley Fries was baptized as a
member of the church in 1845.
"Every last opportunity that I had, every footstep, every
where I touch began right in this place." said Bailey-Jones,
who wrote about her ancestors in her book. "Our Unclaimed
Inheritance."
Mayor Allen Joines and Mayor Pro Tempore Vivian Burke
also spoke during the service, and Mary Brunson. Sophia
Keaster and 1 1 -year-old Nicholas Brow n ama/ed attendees
with their vocal powers. The floor of the church shook
mightily as attendees clapped and stomped to a performance
by the Emmanuel Baptist Church Spiritual Choir.
For more information about St Philips, visit
www.oldsalem.orn.
s
Dr. Patricia Bailey-Jones with her aunt. Alberta
Black.
Mary Rrunson and Sophia Feaster sing at last
week's service.
'White Southerner' writes about
working with SNCC in the '60s
BY LAY LA FARMER
THL CHRONIC 1 I
Davidson College alum
nus Joseph Howell has done
many things in his life, but
few experiences have been as
memorable as what occurred
in the summer of I "->66 .
That summer, he and his
wife Embry. the daughter of
former Davidson College
President Gricr Martin, spent
three months in rural Georgia
working for the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC) as sup
porters of the Civil Rights
Movement.
"You have an experience
like that, it affects who you
are as a person." said Howell,
a nati\e of Nashville. Tenn.
"It also affects your world
view and that fact that we're
all fundamentally the same."
Howell, who lived with
an African American family
and worked with the Head
Start Program, chronicled the
life-changing experience in
his recent I y -released book.
"Civil Rights Journey: The
History of a White
Southerner Coming of Age
During the Civil Rights
Revolution."
Part diary, pan memorr,
"Civil Rights Journey," is a
work that the author
describes as "naive and polit
ically incorrect, but honest
and genuine." According to
the Washington, D.C. resi
dent. the book, which is
available on Amazon.com,
provides a look at the
Movement from a very differ
ent perspective than is tradi
tionally heard.
"I would like many peo
ple to read it," said Howell,
whose first book. "Hard
Living on Clay Street:
Portraits of Blue Collar
Families." has been in con
tinuous print since 1973.
"It's not only about the Civil
Rights Movement: there are
universal themes about com
ing of age and dealing with
injustice."
Howell, who has spent
the bulk of his career in the
affordable housing sector,
said he was "thrust into the
center" of the Movement in
the early 1960s when he and
several fellow fraternity lead
ers from Davidson attended a
meeting hosted by Movement
leaders in Philadelphia.
Following the gathering, and
the black leaders' impas
sioned plea for white partner
ship in the Movement,
Howell decided to take a
stand. He organized a march
in Charlotte in support of the
pending Civil Rights Act of
1964 that received consider
able media attention. From
there. Howell went on to
divinity school in New York
City, where he was taken
under the wing of the late
Allard K. Lowenstein, a civil
rights activist. Lowenstein,
who represented New York's
Fifth District for one term in
the US House of
Representatives, encouraged
Howell to travel to the South
to help SNCC leaders.
"To be a part of the Civil
Submitted Photo
Joseph and Embry Howell
Rights Movement was an
extraordinary privilege,"
declared Howell, a father of
two. "We felt connected, a
part of history. We were so
lucky,"
The son of a bank presi
dent, Howell said his life was
"immeasurably enriched" by
the lessons he learned that
sweltering summer. He says
it inspired him to fight for
justice and equality in the
housing sector.
White faces weren't
always welcomed among
Movement leaders and many
of their colleagues of both
raees faced grave -danger for
their involvement, Howell
said. He admits he spent a
lot of time soul searching and
questioning whether his pres
ence was making a difference,
though in hindsight he
believes it did.
"The stakes were very
high; the emotions were very
high," Howell recalled.
'There was enormous push
back."
Embry Howell, his wife
of more than four decades, is
responsible for the publica
tion of the book. She uncov
ered the diary several years
ago in the couple's attic and
encouraged her husband to
share his story.
"I'm proud of what we did
and I'm glad we did it,"
remarked Mrs. Howell,' a
health policy researcher at the
Urban Institute. "I think this
is sort of the white civil
rights workers' perspective
which ... is another view of
the Movement that's impor
tant to have out there."
"Civil Rights Journey"
sells for $15 and is available
on Amazon.com and
Authorhouse.com . A
Kindle! ervader version is also
available for sale.
IT S \
WONDERFUL
LIFE
^DOWNTOWN
Visit dwsp.org
for dates & info
City Tree Lighting & Parade
The Nutcracker
The Classic Movie "It's a Wonderful Life"
One-of-o-Kind Shopping
The Arts District
Great Restaurants
Carriage Rides
Festive Nightlife . -v_
Holiday Performances riedmoot
& Decorations
And the Mogicol"SjJffjt of the Holidays Downtown
Informational Sessions for Rooming House Occupants and Landlords
Hanes Hosiery Community Center
501 Reynolds Blvd
Winston- Salem, NC 27105
Date: Thursday, January 5, 2012
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Sprague Street Community Recreation Center
1350 East Sprague Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27107
Date: Thursday, January 12, 2012
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Representatives from various agencies that provide services for
displaced individuals will be onsite.
From more information contact Stephanie Stimpson at 336-734-1272 or
stephans@cityofws.org
(Si
MMH
The City of Winston- Salem Community and Business Development Department