Emory
from page Al
The Ministers
Conference has adopted a
four pronged approach to
its community activism,
focusing on the areas of
economic development,
police relations, education
and healthcare this year,
explained Parrish, who led
the April 8 meeting, one of
several meetings featuring
speakers connected to
education this month,
leaders explained.
Emory highlighted
otKer developments that
have taken place in the
district since she last
addressed the Conference
in September 2013,
including a diagnostic
evaluation by the Broad
Foundation, which sup
ports the education of
children in urban districts
that WS/FCS voluntarily
underwent. The recom
mendations made by the
Foundation were under
scored by the concerns
that were raised by par
ents, staff and community
members during her 20
stop listening tour last
summer, Emory said.
Like the community
overall, the Broad
Foundation supported the
idea of choice schools but
decried the resegregation
that took place across the
district because of it.
"I like to say they're
unintended inequities
... but nonetheless, they're
there," she said of the
pockets of low income,
predominantly minority
student bodies that have
resulted from the contro
versial plan, which has
been in place since the
mid 1990's.
While many have
accused her predecessor,
Dr. Don Martin, of imple
menting a plan they say
was designed to re-segre
gate local schools, Emory
stopped short of placing
blame,
"I can't focus on
blame," she said. "I've got
to focus on, 'What does it
look like to get better?'
because all of us can get
on that train."
Emory also highlight
ed the expansion of the
system's Academically
Gifted program - which
by next school year will
have increased its partici
pation threefold and
increased the percentage
of African Americans
involved from three to 33
percent - an overhaul of
the Human Resources
department that she hopes
will bring greater account
ability and better recruit
ment tools to the district,
and the rollout of a dis
trictwide technology stan
dard she is proposing that
will use county funds to
supply technology to
schools districtwide and
bridge some of the
resource gaps that current
ly exist within low wealth
schools.
Bishop Todd Fulton,
who serves as second vice
president of the
Conference, praised
Emory for the work that
she has done and the ini
tiatives and causes she has
championed thus far in her
career at WS/FCS.
"Thank you for being a
breath of fresh air in our
community," declared
Fulton, the pastor of Mt.
Moriah Outreach Center
in Kernersville. "...We're
just glad to have you
here."
Parrish said he was
also encouraged by what
he heard.
"I'm encouraged by
her engagement and by
her open spirit and by her
willingness to consider
new ways and new paths
forward," the Peace Haven
Baptist pastor said.
"There's a lot of work to
be done."
The Ministers
Conference of Winston
Salem meets every
Tuesday at 11 a.m. at
'Shiloh Baptist Church.
1075 Shalimar Drive. For
more information, visit
http://mcwsv.org or call
336-788-7023.
Poverty
from page AI
of action to eradicate its
presence in the local com
munity during a forum
convened by members of
the North Carolina
Legislative Black Caucus.
"We've reached out to
the people and organiza
tions that can really make
a difference in our com
munity. We are counting
on you," State Sen. Earline
Parmon, vice chair of the
NCLBC, told attendees at
the April 4 event, which
drew representatives from
dozens of local agencies.
"...I heard someone say it
couldn't be done, but I'm
here to tell you if we join
forces together, it can be."
The event, which was
held at the Anderson
Center on the campus of
Winston-Salem State
University on the 46th
anniversary of Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.'s assassi
nation, was part of a tour
Caucus leaders are
embarking upon to estab
lish coordinated efforts to
eradicate poverty
statewide.
"This is not a listening
tour. This is about action,
and action now," declared
Rep. Garland Pierce,
NCLBC chairman. "If ever
there was a time that we
need to be concerned
about poverty, the time is
now."
The forum featured a
panel discussion with
Mayor Allen Joines, Rev.
Kelly Carpenter, Minister
Alvin Carlisle, Margaret
Elliott, John Gladman and
Dr. Karen McNeil Miller.
"Fifty years ago, the
War on Poverty was
declared and today, we're
declaring the War on
Poverty failed," Joines
said, noting that the latest
Census report found that
22 percent of U.S. resi
dents live in poverty. "...
Poverty levels are as high
,if not higher, than they
were in 1964."
Forsyth County has the
dubious distinction of
being home to the highest
poverty rate among urban
North Carolina counties,
noted Gladman, the assis
tant director of the
Salvation Army, which
provides shelter and serv
ices for some of the area's
most needy families.
Joines is on the cusp of
waging his own war on
poverty, through a collabo
rative initiative he's calling
a "thought force." Slated
to launch in the spring, the
effort will call on commu
nity stakeholders to spend
several months delving
into poverty and its causes.
They will generate realis
tic strategies based on
what they leam and "con
necting the dots" to create
a Poverty Reduction
Community Action Plan
within the next two years,
the mayor said.
"We're about ready to
kick this thing off, and I
think we're going to have
some good results," the
mayor declared, adding
that he wants every local
leader to make poverty
reduction a chief priority.
"If we could get our
mindset gqing in that
direction, I think we could
begin to make some
progress ," he said.
Since its inception in
1947, the Kate B.
Reynolds Charitable Trust
has invested over $80 mil
lion to support the poor
and needy in the local
community, said McNeil
Miller, the organization's
president. But, philanthro
py alone is not enough to
solve the issue of poverty,
she said. Without the sup
port of the government and
other partnerships and ini
tiatives, philanthropic
investments are as effec
tive as "throwing a thimble
full of water on a raging
fire," McNeil-Miller said.
When it comes to end
ing poverty, those who
know it best must be part
ners in the effort, McNeil
Miller said.
"You have to be very
resourceful to be poor,"
she observed. "...They
have great assets; they
know how to put two and
two together and make
eight, and we need to
exploit that as part of our
solution."
In a time where many
societal ills - including
poverty ? are exacerbated
by moral issues such as
"the breakdown of the
family structure," the
faith-based community is
uniquely positioned to
address the effects of
poverty, said Carlisle, the
pastor of Exodus Baptist
Church.
"The faith family has
always been a major vehi
cle for moving the minds
of the masses, to elevate
their decisions to think in
another way," he stated.
"...Oftentimes, we neglect
to be that stopgap provi
sion for those who are in
poverty." ,
Carpenter, who helms
Green Street United
Methodist Church, briefly
explained the Circles proj
ect, a new initiative of the
Shalom Project, a nonprof
it he established a decade
ago. The project, which
has been implemented in
communities across the
nation, seeks to demolish
some of the obstacles peo
ple living in poverty face
in trying to overcome their
situation, he explained.
"Poverty is not just
about a lack of resources.
It's also a lack of relation
ships," Carpenter said. "...
The Circles initiative is
designed to actually give
new relationships, to pro
vide a circle - or actually a
network - of support. The
Circles approach is about
trying to build social capi
tal for people who live in
poverty."
Parmon deemed the
more than two hourlong
session a successful step in
the march towards ending
poverty for good.
"This has been a great
opportunity," Parmon told
attendees at the culmina
tion of the gathering.
"Together, we truly, truly
can make a difference in
this city."
For more information
on the NCBLC's war on
poverty, visit
http://nclbc.com or find
them on Face book.
Photos by Layla (Jarms
Dr. John McConnell of Wake Forest Medical Center speaks.
Mayor Allen Joints speaks as Rev. Kelly Carpenter
looks on.
Rep. Earline Parmon
Dr. Corey Walker of
Winston-Salem State
welcomes attendees.
Making it
Official
NCC'U Photo
Debra Saunders-White is surrounded by mem
bers of her family on Friday, April 4 as she takes
the oath to formally become the new chancellor
of North Carolina Central University. Several
days of special events were held at the Durham
based school last week to celebrate the occasion.
Saunders-White is the first woman to ever serve
as NCCU's leader.
Wf WEI CO M F
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(336) 744-1300
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L. ^ -3 IN CASH
Assault weapons: $150
Handguns: $100
Rifles/shotguns: $75
Pellet guns, SB guns and ammunition will
also be accepted, but without compensation.
APRIL 12,9 A.M.-1 P.M. RAIN OR SHINE
FIRST WAUGHTOWN BAPTIST CHURCH, 838 MORAVIA ST.
HOW TO TURN IN A WEAPON
? Place the unloaded gun inside your trunk, truck bed,
or cargo area before leaving your home.
? Approach the church by way of Burgandy, Brookline
and Urban streets (see map). Signs will be posted.
? Enter the driveway on the west side of the church.
? Tell the officers what type of gun you have in the trunk.
? Stay in your vehicle at all times. Officers will remove
the gun. (If you cannot remotely open the trunk or
rear hatch from the driver's seat, you will hand the
officer the key.)
? Accept the receipt for weapons collected.
? Move to the next stop where a staff member will
accept your receipt and pay you cash for the
weapons collected.
U BROOKLINE ST
I MORAVIA ST H
FIRST COME,
FIRST SERVED
NO
VOUCHERS
GUN BUY-BACK (l&A
O. Do I have to identify myself?
A. Yes. You will have to give your name.
Ok. I want to remove a gun from my home, but I don't
want to receive payment for it. May I bring it to
the gun buy-back?
A. Yes, you may bring the gun to the buyback and decline
payment for it.
Q. Will you buy ammunition or realistic toy guns?
A. Participants in the program may turn in ammunition and
realistic toy guns, but they will not be paid for these items.
For more information, cal Cltytini 311 or 727-8000. www.GtyofWS.or^/gunboyboc^