discussion 3w ,osi"8skid Q ^<5w # -See Page B1 ' | Volume40,Number21 WINSTON-SALEM, N.^^^Sa^^filfRSDAY, January 16, 2014 Chronicle breakfast kicks-ojfMLK Day events on Monday BY LAYLA GARMS THE CHRONICLE ? The Chronicle will be kicking the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday off in style this year. a^ Close to'1,000 attendees are expected at the "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 2014 Annual Prayer Breakfast Honoring the Late Nelson Mandela" at the MC Benton Convention Center this year. ah ivw^piug wini uauiiiun, mc i .j\j a.m. uicaMasi win nunur me H^^^rocky road African Americans have traveled, and provide inspi ration for the future, said Chronicle Publisher Ernie Pitt. *?!??_ _ I ? t- 1 1 _ ? - I . -_-l 1 - ?? TV.. ii s a norriDic nisiory, oui 11 s wnai nappenea, rut said of tracing black history back to its roots in slavery. "Our ancestors suffered and it's ?y,Y because of their suffering, it's because of Martin Luther King's suffering, death and Hh murder that we are able to do some of the M|j? things that we're able to do today. We owe ! them our respect. We owe them our honor Ik'' ... and that's what the MLK Prayer Breakfast is all about." The event will feature some nationally known guests, as well as some of Winston-Salem's own. Acclaimed Attorney Willie "Giant Killer" Gary will serve as keynote speaker. The Eastman, Ga. native's rags-to-riches story is the 1^^^^ stuff of legends; his meteoric rise from ? migrant farming communities ih the rural l r~-' fp*""y~ soutn to Becoming one ot horbes magazine s ' "Top 50 Attorneys in the US" is well documented. Gary, who helmed the first African American-owned law office in his hometown when he was licensed to practice in 1974, says King paved the way for the success he has enjoyed. Dr. King paid the ultimate price tor all of us to be where we are today. It ain t "about just black people, it s both black and white people coming together and because of that, we live in a better nation, there's no doubt about that," he declared. . See MLK on A8 HBJ1 u?_l Gary wamam Dr. Angelou Heart of a Fighter Lifelong athlete and trainer uses his own heart scare to inspire others to get healthy BY LAYLA GARMS THE CHRONICLE All his life, city native Joe Walker Jr. has been physically active. "He's always been a health freak. We call him a health nut," said his mother, Mattie Walker. "Always, from a little boy, he's been interested in health." From Pop Warner football and high school and college athletics, Walker, 48, transitioned to weightlifting and exercise training, which he has done nearly every day for more than two decades, along with eating a healthy diet and abstaining from drugs and alcohol. "I had a lot of friends that ended up playing pro fessional sports, and we all worked out together," explained Walker, a certified personal trainer and Pilates instructor. "It's something I enjoyed and I did well." Despite his rigorous routine. Walker says he could not overcome genetics. "I looked very healthy, but I was probably one of the sickest people on the planet," said the Forsyth County probation officer, who suffered a heart attack just over a year ago. "... My situation was just genetics. They (doctors) told me it wasn't anything else physically that I could've done to prevent it." Heart disease is rampant in Walker's family. His father, the late Rev. Dr. J.T. Walker Sr., the pastor emeritus of Jones Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Reidsville, underwent a triple bypass in the 1980s. "He always told me the men in our family, they died in their 40s and 50s," Walker said. "He always See Walker on A9 Photo by Ltyta Ciarms Joe Walker Jr. suffered a heart attack in 2012. Phott> b> Lay la Garms John Davenport Jr. will seek votes oj residents countywide. Davenport to run At-large BY LAYLA GARMS THE CHRONICLE ' ? ' At least one District 1 seat on the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board ot Education will be up for grabs this elec tion cycle. John Davenport Jr., who currently occupies one of the two seats in the pre dominantly black j^ t uisirict, nas announced that he plans to run for one of the three at-large positions on the School Board. Davenport, a Republican, was controversially Appointed to the board in 2011 by the Republican controlled Board pf Education He fulfilled a seat left vacant after Democrat Geneva Brown stepped .down because of health reasons. Davenport, CEO and president of his own engineering, design and consulting firm, said fie felt that as a Republican, his odds would be better in a countywide race rather than in the heavily Democratic District 1. "The same people who would've voted for me if I were in District 1 can vote for me at-large, and then I've got voters from all over the county who can also vote for me," reasoned the father of five. All nine members of the School Board are up for reelection this year If Davenport is elected to an at-large seat, the board could have the most diverse makeup it has seen in recent history, as both District 1 seats are likely to be occu pied by African Americans, pointed out longtime board member Vic Johnson, who also represents District 1. "He could win at-large and we could get another person in this area on the board - another black person," noted Johnson, who said he is "still thinking about" whether he will run for reelection himself. "So 1 think he should run at large." Elisabeth Motsinger, one of just two Democrats (along with Johnson) on the board, and Republicans Jeannie Metcalf and Irene May, who was appointed to the Board last year after Donny Lambeth was elected to the General Assembly, current , See Davenport on A7 Johnson ? "T" N. = ? 8 ? g <