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The Chro^<cle
Volume 3?, Number* -WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, October
McCorkle lauded for
breaking college's color line
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONICLE
Fifty years ago, James McCorkle stepped onto the cam
pus of Guilford College and forever changed the course of
the school's history.
Last week, the Winston-Salem native and retired educator
returned to his alma mater to celebrate
the 5Uth anniversary ot his enrollment,
which racially integrated the school.
The Sept. 25 event, held outdoors
on the quad, served as the kick off for
a year's slate of activities dedicated to
reflect upon the diversity journey of
Guilford, a small, private school
founded by Quakers in 1837.
McCoikle spoke at the event, which
also included African drumming, spo
ken word performances and speeches
by other Rotable black alumni.
Drew
McCorkle became the school s
first African American student when he arrived in August
1962, but he wasn't the only black face on campus. That
same year, Guilford welcomed two students from Kenya.
"I was treated fine. There were no problems in particu
lar," recalled the 68 year-old."... I was met by a group of peo
ple, including my roommates - they sort of walked me
around the campus. There was no fanfare or anything. It was
a quiet entrance."
McCorkle, an Atkins High School graduate who was a
National Merit Scholar and president of the Student Council,
said he never would have considered attending Guilford if it
hadn't been for the gentle nudging of an Atkins guidance
counselor, who convinced him that Guilford was where he
See McCorkle on A7
1_^
Photo by LayU Garms
Janus McCorkle is a Winston-Salem native.
Center provides horseback therapy
BY LAYLA UARM5
THE CHRONICLE
On the ground, four year-old Ethan
Lee sometimes faces challenges. But
when he's on the back of a horse at
Riverwood Therapeutic Riding Center,
Ethan - who suffers from a mild form
of autism - is on
top of the world.
"He's doing
very well on the
horse," said his
mother, Pam
Stovall-Lee, who
has been bringing
him to weekly
therapeutic riding
classes at the
Tobaccoville
facility since
Hubbard
August. "He anticipates it and counts
the days down until he can come."
Stovall-Lee, a computer science
instructor at Forsyth Technical
Community College, said her son has a
"near obsession" with horses. His flair
for all things equestrian, combined
with the therapeutic elements of the
program at Riverwood, made it an ideal
fit for Ethan.
"I feel like he's a natural horse
man," she said. "He's happy, and I'm
hoping that in the long term that this
could teach him patience, care and
empathy for animals, which he doesn't
have. That kind of thing isn't easy for a
child like hiH!|but he's very into it, and
I knew from his long term love of hors
es that he would be. It's very satisfying
to see him happy."
Ethan is among the children and
adults who have benefitted from pro
grams at Riverwood since it opened in
1995. The center currently serves more
than 100 clients a week with classes in
Therapeutic Riding, which serves stu
dents with physical, cognitive, social
and/or emotional needs; Hippotherapy,
where students work one on one with a
trained physical therapist to improve
speech, mobility, balance and self
awareness; 'and Equine Assisted
Psychotherapy (EAP)/Equine Assisted
Learning (EAL), which uses experi
mental methods that incorporate horses
to help promote personal growth and
learning. Riverwood also offers riding
See Riverwood on All
' ^ I M? I ? ?llllll? ?
Photos by Layb Garms
Ethan Lee, 4, grins front atop a Riverwood horse as volunteers Melenie Lankau
and her daughter Julia (right) look on.
?? ? i
Photos by Todd Luck
Legal Aid Triad Regional Director Hazel Mack speaks.
Legal Aid
marks 50 years
of advocacy
BY TODD LUCK ? /
THE CHRONICLE
Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) celebrated its 50th
anniversary last Thursday in the city where it began.
Winston-Salem's Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts host
ed the anniversary celebration, which drew legal profession
als from across the state. The agency provides free legal serv
ices to low income clients in a variety of civil issues, includ
ing domestic violence, foreclosures and evictions and
employment law. Each year, LANC helps 25,000 people.
"If all the people in Forsyth County who have benefitted
from the services of Legal Aid were to come this evening,
we'd have to move this
event to the Wake
Forest stadium," said
Judge Denise
Hartsfieid, a former
Legal Aid lawyer who
emceed the celebra
tion.
The legal aid move
ment have grown over
the years, and offices
have opend in other
N.C. cities. The LANC
network now pfovides
legal services to all of
the state's 100 coun
ties.
Many former and
current Legal Aid
employees reminisced
about the agency's his
tory, which began in
Managing Attorney Yvette
Stackhouse (left) with paralegal
Linda Graham, who chaired the
anniversary event.
1962, when lawyers
from the local Junior Bar Association started the Legal Aid
Society of Forsyth County.
Over the years, the agency expanded to serve surrounding
counties and was renamed the Legal Aid Society of
Northwest North Carolina before it merged with Winston
Salem Legal Aid, a separate non-profit legal assistance
agency, in 2007. ?
Lennie Gerber, a former Legal Aid Society managing
attorney, recalled being the agency's only female when she
arrived in 1977. When she left in 1991, most of the staff was
female, she said.
Hazel Mack, who has worked at Legal Aid for 24 years
and is now the Triad regional director, told attendees that her
background is similar to those of the clients she serves.
"I understood what it's like to be locked out, what it's like
to be poor, what it's like not to have access to justice," said
See Le|al Aid on A5
l
BPI supporters wined and dined
Photo hy Martin lacker
GEMS participant Jalyn-Rose Clark tells her story to a delighted
crowd of BPI officials and supporters.
BYLAYLAGARMS
TUB CHRONICLE
Members of the Black Philanthropy
Initiative of the Winston-Salem
Foundation touted past successes and
solicited future support Tuesday at its
annual fundraiser, which this year was
themed, "Pulling from our Roots."
The affair, which drew about 160
people to the Spring House Restaurant
Kitchen & Bar on Spring Street, is one
of the chief fundraisers for the initiative,
which provides financial support to var
ious projects and agencies that focus on
financial literacy, parenting and educa
tion, according to Advisory Committee
See BPI on A10
Headed to the Voting Booth
Photo by Kevin Walker
Phyllis Walker, a volunteer from St. Paul UMC, helps David Jackson
and his wife, Tonya, register to vote Sunday during The Chronicle's
Gospel Fest. Walker collected registration forms from more than 20
people during the three hour-long event.
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