Three honored for upholding Rodney's legacy
BY CHANEL DAVIS
rHE CHRONICLE
Barbara S. Hayes and
Beaufort and Pollye
Bailey were presented
with the 2014 St. Philips
Cedric S. Rodney Unity
Award last Thursday dur
ing Old Salem Museums
and Gardens' Juneteenth
Luncheon.
The award was estab
lished in honor of the late
Rev. Dr. Cedric S.
Rodney, a Moravian min
ister who led the restora
tion efforts of historic St.
Philips African Moravian
Church in Old Salem. The
church is the oldest stand
ing African American
church in the state and is
where the abolition of
slavery was announced to
local blacks on Sunday,
May 21, 1865. Juneteenth
is an annual celebration
of the end of slavery in
United States.
Hayes and the Baileys
were hailed as proven
community bridge
builders who have worked
successfully to move peo
ple toward a common
goal for the benefit of all
of society.
Hayes has worked in
the Winston
Salem/Forsyth County
School system and has
served on numerous
boards and committees,
including those of the
Winston-Salem/ Forsyth
County Emancipation
Association and Winston
Lake Family YMCA
Black Achievers. She is
the widow of Judge
Roland Hayes, the coun
ty's first black chief
District Court judge.
"Thank you so much
for bestowing this honor,
especially because I had
the privilege and pleasure
of knowing the Rev. Dr.
Rodney for more than 40
years. During that time, I
watched him do so much
in our community. He
was truly an asset," Hayes
said.
I
The Baileys are long
time members of St.
Philips. They worked to
help restore the church
and many other local his
mvz Tr^nnrr:
toric sites, including
Walnut Cove Colored
School, Red Bank
School, Oak Grove
School and the home of
Winston-Salem State
University Founder Dr.
Simon Green Atkins. 1
"This is one of the
most cherished awards I
(
that I have received." said
Beaufort Bailey, a former
School Board and Board
of County Commissioners
member. "It was always a
joy to be around (Dr.
Rodney)."
The luncheon also
included a panel discus
sion of "Slavery,
Broadway and
Hollywood" and a per
formance of a snippet of
Samm-Art Williams'
"Excelsior" performed by
the North Carolina Black
Repertory Company Teen
Theatre.
Williams, an
acclaimed stage and
screen writer, was joined
by historian Dr. John
Fleming and Dale
Pollock, a Hollywood
producer who teaches at
UNC School of the Arts,
for the discussion; WSSU
professor Dr. Elwanda
Ingram moderated.
Noting the recent suc
cess of "12 Years a
Slave," which Oscar vot
ers picked as this year's
Best Picture, Williams,
who has written for sit
coms like "The Fresh
Prince of Bel-Air" and
'Martin," said black films
should not only look to
the past, but forward and
to the here-and-now by
fixing some of the toxic
portrayals of blacks that
have too long existed.
"We can't, 50 years ,
from now, have the same
conversation. Black ,
Americans were never de
programmed from slav
ery, and that is why ya'll
are angry," Williams said.
"Get rid of that bitterness
... We have to admit to
what our backgrounds
are. We must teach our
children how to approach
this from a positive stand
point, said Williams,
who believes more
financing is needed so
that young, talented black
writers, directors and pro
ducers can tell different
stories.
Pollock, whose pro
ducer credits include the
films "Set it Off' and
"The Mighty Quinn," said
movies like "Birth of a
Nation" and "Gone with
the Wind" are two of the
most popular films in
American history, though
both depict negative
stereotypes of African
Americans.
"Slavery is a contro
versial topic to discuss
within American cinema
because the hodgepodge
of Hollywood films that
have tackled slavery
often featured negative
stereotypes of black peo
ple," Pollock said. "There
is tremendous resistance
in the market place for
making anything different
than a very safe, urban
movie."
Fleming, a noted
author who has served as
the national president of
the Study .of African
American Life and
History, spoke about the
historical aspects of slav
ery, saying that with the
exception of a few aboli
tionists, most Americans
accepted slavery, and the
second-class citizenship
it dictated, as normal
facts of life.
"When there came to
matters of races, there
was little distinction
between popular belief
and what was held as sci
entific evidence,"
Fleming said. "Slavery
characterized and shaped
America more than any
institution."
i
Photos by Chanel Davis
Above: Barbara Hayes
and Beaufort and Pollye
Bailey receive their
awards from Dr. Mae
Rodney, Cedric Rodney's
widow.
Left: Teen actors per
form a scene from
"Excelsior."
Below: Panelists Samm
Art Williams, Dale
Pollock and John
Fleming.
Rodney
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