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Witnessing tor Jesus
Ernie
Pitt
This 'N'
That
I have basically kept
silent about a lot of
unfortunate occurrences
that have taken place in
my life over the last 10
years. I have basically
allowed anyone who had
an opinion about my life
to say and do just about
anything with impunity.
Although I would never
respona physically to
such aspersions,' I can't
say that the thought has
never crossed my mind.
Fortunately, my pas
tor, the Rev. Donald
Jenkins, preached a ser
mon this past Sunday at
St. Paul United Methodist
Church on God's desire
for us to be witnesses for
Jesus. "Go throughout
the world and make disci
ples of men!" he said.
Anyone who has ever suf
fered for one reason or
another, rightly or wrong
ly, and has been brought
to the cross by God's
grace and mercy needs to
share their story with
everybody.
I thought my only
obligation was to simply
display my ability to
withstand the violent and
abusive language and
horrible misinterpreta
tions of how I have tried
to live my life. I have
always known that God
was in charge of every
thing and that no one can
take that away or change
it into something else.
1 mentioned in one of
my previous columns that
while I was serving my
prison sentence at Butner,
1 was drawn to Martin
Luther King's Letter
from the Birmingham
Jail. Soon after the piece
was published, I was sent
an article written by a
columnist accusing me of
portraying myself as Dr.
King. That, of course,
was not the case. I was
simply stating that, like
King, no weapon formed
against me shall prosper
- not even prison bars.
The long and short of
it is that God changed my
life. He showed me that
there was only one per
fect person who has ever
graced this Earth - Jesus.
But God forgives, and He
equips us with everything
we need to live in this
world. He taught me that
one does not need to live
in the lap of luxury in
order to be happy and
content. No, I'm not a
preacher, just a soldier
for Jesus.
I'm not worried about
anything. I'm not worried
about anyone. And I'm
not angry with anybody.
I just want to do God's
will. I know you've heard
that before, but that sin
cerely reflects my present
condition.
This is my declaration
to all who may have by
intent or accident tried to
-and succeeded, perhaps
- in mistreating or belit
tling me: I forgive you,
unconditionally. And,
yes, I do know who you
are.
You don't owe me an
apology. Just pray for me
and pray for our people -
that we will get to know
God and claim Jesus as
our Lord and Saviour.
Ernie Pitt is the co
founder and publisher of
the Winston-Salem
Chronicle. Reach him at
erpitt@wschronicle.com.
Presidential Praise
To the Editor:
This section of the U.S. Constitution
describes the duty of the President to give
a State of the Union address.
"He shall from time to time give to the
Congress Information of the State of the
Union, and recommend to their
Consideration such measures as he shall
judge necessary and expedient
President's Obama's State of the Union
address vehemently and metaphorically
challenged all Americans to be citizens of
action to make America "a more perfect
union" in very precise language. His unify
ing message supported with real citizens as
examples of what America represents to
the world community was rich in history
and in the spiritual essence of America's
core values and unique identity as a world
leader.
The citizens identified in the balcony
were a true quilt of America. The pragmat
ic recommendations to provide individual
retirement options to average working
Americans, to increase the minimum wage
to a livable wage, to promote excellence in
educational opportunities and to move
America forward based on the common
core values that we share demonstrates his
commitment and resolve. Thank you.
President Obama, for reminding us of what
it means to be an American.
Fleming El-Amin
Winston-Salem
Respect Restroom Privacy
| Olvmphia
Brown
Guest
Columnist
When we "conform" it
means that we do the
things that everybody else
is doing, whether it is
right or wrong.
There are a lot of
things going on in the
world today that are not
meant to be done. A
month or more ago, I was
in a popular local restau
rant and had to go to the
restroom. There were
many ladies present of
various ages. One was
elderly and in a wheel
chair, and another lady
was helping her to
straighten her clothes out.
Suddenly, two other older
women came in with a
young boy who appeared
to be about 12 years old.
The young man seemed
shocked and surprised to
be facing all these women
in their private space - the
restroom. The women
who brought him in
apparently seemed to
think that it was OK for
him to be there. It obvi
ously made the ladies who
were using the restroom
uncomfortable; it made
me uncomfortable, and
the young man was
uncomfortable.
This is obviously a sit
uation where the rights
and privacy of others were
being ignored and all of
us present were forced to
r
ignore our values in place
of someone else's conven
ience and "right" to do
what they want. This is
not the way it is meant to
be. I reported this to the
restaurant manager and he
just shrugged it off. I
have not been to that
restaurant since that
event.
1 was traveling about
two months ago and had
to make a restroom stop.
They did not have a lock
on the door, and as I was
washing my hands to
leave, a young man about
20 years old walked in,
stared me up and down
like, "What are you doing
in here?" Again, this was
another situation of the
rights to privacy being
violated and an expecta
tion for me and others to
go along with it. My con
cern about restroom shar
ing was reported to the
management, and they
looked at me like,'
"What's the big deal?"
I was in Raleigh a few
days ago at a conference,
and as I and several others
prepared for our trip
home, guess what? I had
another incident in a rest
room. A man and a
woman were cleaning.
When I saw the man, I
asked the lady where the
next available restroom
was, she did not know. I
told the man that he had to
leave, and he was offend
ed, but he left. Offended?
I don't share the restroom
with a man present at any
time or anywhere and I
am sure that many others
share the same values. I
told the lady that we are
not used to using the rest
room with a man present.
The point is that it is
becoming increasingly
common to have to go
along with and accept the
new society norms and
expectations because we
simply will not speak up
and speak against what is
not meant to be. We have
that choice to not do as
the world is doing.
Olymphia Brown of
Winston-Salem is a
licensed professional
counselor and licensed
clinical addictions spe
cialist.
k
Master quitter Andrena Coleman is . ptwu, b> Liyuci.?
among the featured artists. Cornelia Webster with "Gordon."
Delta
from page A1
African American artists
from across the state. It
was Daniels' first show.
"It's time," said the
Richmond, Va. native,
who got his start as a pho
tographer in the US Army
in 1976. "I've been shoot
ing for a long time. I've
got a passion for photog
raphy, particularly portrai
ture, and I think I've got a
story to tell through my
photographs."
"Invitational 2014 @
Delta Arts" opened
Thursday, Feb. 6 to an
enthusiastic crowd of
more than 200.
"We couldn't be more
pleased with the turnout,
or the submissions,"
declared Marguerite
Oestreicher, a member of
Delta's Board of Directors
and one of the exhibit's
curators.
The 2014 Invitational,
which served as a kickoff
of the gallery's celebration
of Black History Month,
put out a call for work sev
eral weeks ago. The result
was a diverse collection of
49 pieces by 33 emerging
and established artists.
The pieces are not just for
gawking at; they are for
sale, with profits benefit
ting both the artist and the
gallery.
Akinyele Cameron
Kamau, a senior studying
art at Winston-Salem State
University, was among the
emerging artists who
made the cut. Ironically,
the self portrait Cameron
Kamau submitted was the
first painting she did after
changing her major from
elementary education to
art two summers ago.
Although her instructor,
Professor Scott Betz, told
the students they could
keep their portraits simple,
Cameron-Kamau went the
extra mile.
"He was like, 'I just
want you to finish it. It
doesn't have to be great,'
but I'm a stickler for
detail, so I took mine
home," related the Holly
Springs resident. "...1
wanted to make it count."
Cameron-Kamau's
efforts paid off. Last year,
when WSSU officials
approached Betz in search
of an artist who could
depict Chancellor Donald
Reaves in a portrait to
hang in the new Donald J.
Reaves Student Activities
Center, Betz said he knew
just who to call on.
"She is very meticu
lous, she is very profes
sional, she follows
through," he said of
Cameron-Kamau. "This
would reflect well on the
art progr&m, and I knew
Akinyele could pull it off."
Cameron-Kamau rose
to the occasion, complet
ing the massive portrait in
just two weeks. Despite
the considerable exposure
she has gotten for the
Reaves piece, the
Invitational was Cameron
Kamau's first show at
what she calls "a real
gallery." The 21-year-old
was one of four current
and former WSSU stu
dents whose work was on
display at Delta last week.
"I'm very pleased that
you can see so much good
work that is being done by
our students." said exhibit
curator Allison Fleming, a
Delta Board member and
chair of the Department of
Art & Visual Studies at
Winston-Salem State
University.
The show was inten
tionally fluid, allowing the
artists to submit work on
virtually any theme or
medium they chose, with a
goal of celebrating the
breadth and diversity of
African American contem
porary art, Fleming said.
"It was specifically
advertised just for African
American artists, just
because that's our mis
sion, to promote African
American art," she
explained. "It's Black
History Month in
February, and we really
wanted to kind of go back
to our core mission."
Roxboro native
Cornelia Webster's piece,
"Gordan," is one of the
only mixed media works
in the show. The piece,
with its leather and acrylic
paint on Indian cotton, is
part of a style of art
Webster has dubbed
"hispictorials" - works of
art with historical back
grounds.
"Gordan was a run
away slave," she
explained. "He used a
very ingenious method of
covering himself with
onions so he could evade
the slave catchers. He
went into the safety of the
Union Army and he even
tually joined ... There is a
photograph of him in the
Smithsonian, so this is a
reproduction of that pho
tograph."
The stories behind
Webster's work - which
spans more than 35 years
- will be detailed in her
forthcoming book,
"Society Conscious,"
which is slated to be
released next month.
Webster says she is hope
ful that her work will one
day be used as a tool to
teach younger generations
about the storied history
of African Americans.
"(I hope) that they see
it as an avenue to educate
our youth," the grand
mother of three said of
area educators. "Without
knowledge of ourselves,
we are apt to repeat the
mistakes of the past."
The Delta Arts Center
is hosting two events in
conjunction with the show,
an African American
Read-In today (Thursday,
Feb. 20) at 6 pjn. and
"Gospel and Gumbo,"
which is being billed as
"an evening of networking
, delicious gumbo and
great music," on
Thursday, March 6 at 6
p.m. "Invitiational 2014
@ Delta Arts" is on view
through April 26. For
more information, visit
www.deltaartscenter.org.
I ?li ?I ?
Akinyele Cameron-Kamau with her self portrait.
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