Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / May 22, 2014, edition 1 / Page 7
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Marcus from page Ka Marcus' daughter, kaypri, an actor, writer and pro ducer who does not use a last name, visited North Carolina, where she was slated to attend her moth er's 60th reunion at Raleigh's Meredith College and host a reading and signing of the book, which she co-authored, at Knollwood Baptist Church. "My mom's story, 1 truly feel, could change a lot of hearts and minds," said the Teaneck, N.J. native, who picked up the torch to complete her mother's story after Marcus' Alzheimer's set in several years back. "...It's not just a story of this white woman falling into herself and realizing the effects of racism. It's also a story of her coming into herself and realizing that she's important, that her story matters, that she mat ters." kaypri says her mother and her father, the late Rev. Chester Lee Marcus, a black man whom her mother met through her racial justice work, dated in secret for close to a decade. While her father was at the forefront, partic ipating in historic move ments such as the March on Washington, her mother took a different tack, work ing quietly and diligently behind the scenes "I think she kind of beat herself up for not being at the marches and on the front lines," kaypri said. "Lthink through the process of writing this book, she realized that she did make a difference, but she realized it late in lite, and 1 wish she'd realized it sooner." City native Angela Gerena-Diaz. a program specialist for the Partnership for Drug Free America and social justice advocate, is a friend of the Marcus family. She read the book from cover to cover during a three-day span, and said she was deeply moved by the senti ments behind it. "It was just amazing that she tells it from her perspective," said Gerena Diaz, who is black and Latina. "It was just raw and real, and we need to start having those kinds of con versations - truthful and straight to the point." As a student at Meredith, Marcus became involved in a series of dia logues with students at the historically black Shaw University that kaypri says sparked her mother's inter est in the struggle for racial equality. After her junior year of college, Marcus served as a counselor at an interracial camp for chil dren in Saginaw, Mich. "That summer changed her life. That summer, she was like, 'I want to do this for the rest of my life.' That was her passion. That's when she realized she could make a difference if she helped enlighten peo ple's minds, and that's what really set her off," related kaypri, who spent hours researching, sorting through her mother's newspaper clippings and notes and interviewing people she worked with decades ago to bring the story to life. In 1990, when racial unrest in Teaneck was sparked by the fatal shoot ing of black teen Phillip Pannell by a white police officer, kaypri says her mother sprang into action, aiding in the racial dia logues and playing a "sig nificant role" in efforts to heal racial wounds in the culturally diverse town. Marcus also helped to found the Teaneck Community Chorus, a racially diverse singing group that celebrates the musical traditions of all its members and is still in existence today. kaypri says her 81 year-old mother was once an aspiring missionary, but she found a less traditional - yet equally important - method of sharing God's love. "She had gone to school to be a missionary and follow in her sister's footsteps," she said, "and what 1 say in the book is she did become a mission ary, but not in the way she expected." kaypri, a frequent Reader's Theatre guest at the National Black Theatre Festival who is best known for her one woman show, "Babygirl: The coming of age sitcom/drama of a media-codependa-lova holic," admits she was reluctant to put her own career aside to finish her mother's book. These days, kaypri regards the work, which she published through her company Priscilla Belle Productions, with a spirit of grateful ness, believing it is some thing she was called to do. "This is my greatest contribution, telling my mom's story, and 1 just hope it will inspire other people to tell their parents' and grandparents' stories," she said. "...It's a great example of how someone can fall into something completely unplanned and find their passion, and that's something that is universal." Gerena-Diaz beleives the book, which she describes as "amazing," truly has something to offer its readers with its "raw, in your face" honesty and poignant recollections of one woman's quest to better herself, her commu nity and the nation, "Her experiences were real. She sat down, she learned, she stumbled, she discovered," Gerena-Diaz said of Marcus. "I feel that because she didn't know, she wasn't afraid to ask." "I Didn't Know What I Didn't Know: A Southern White Woman's Story About Race" is available in e-book and paperback editions on amazon.com. For more information about the book, find " I Didn t Know What I Didn't Know" on Face book. For more information on kaypri, visit http://wwwJcaypri.com. Submitted Ittoio Dorothy Hampton Marcus poses with friends at the Saginaw, Mich, summer camp. Frats from pugt A5 see. WSSU students also also raised funds for Next Step Ministries, Inc., an area nonprofit that helps domestic violence sur vivors. "Hearing about the violence toward these women made me want to do even more. As men, we have a responsibility to educate our peers. We have the power to make real change happen." said Orlando Mitchell, WSSU's director of Greek Life and Special Programs. Fraternities at Elizabeth City State University, NC State, Duke and Elon University took part in similar activi ties. On social media, the men involved with the campaign used #fraterni ties4family to give their message a broader reach. "In my daily work. 1 have seen the harms wrought by domestic vio lence and wanted to find a way to reduce the number of victims," Ullman said. "I believe that men are essential to ending this type of violence. That's why I decided to work with fraternities." Learn more about the initiative at http .//www.charlesull man .com/our-firm/frater nities4family!. IFB from page A4 President Delmer Wall. Tanya Wilson received the Kathryn W. Garner Volunteer of the Year Award for her out reach and support of IFB's community pro grams. Ann Johnston, a long-time IFB board member, received the IFB Commodore Funderburk Award. The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) received the IFB Customer of the Year Award. DeCA oversees 248 commissaries in 13 countries worldwide, and has partnered with IFB since 1998. More than 35 employees in IFB's Asheville facility work on the DeCA contract, packaging and distribut ing impulse items that are then shipped to commis saries all over the world. Ann Johnston Tanya Wilson I EVERY SUNDAY IN MAY 1-5P.M. ARTS DISTRICT TRADE STREET WINSTON-SALEM, NC MAY 4 BLUESAPALOOZA TWIN CITY BUSKERS THE LOW COUNTS WE20 AND THE MOFOS MAY 11 MOTHER'S DAY MIXED BAG EM ERGE BIG RON HUNTER BAND MAY 18 DOWN HOME BIG BUMP & THE STUN GUN2 RICHARD BOYD'S TRADE STREET TROUBADOURS MAY 28 BEACH PARTY SUNDAY THE TIME FLYERS KIDS CORNER EVERY WEEK FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO WWW.THCAFASGROURCOM A ? H ? ? 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Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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