SSSm " Pieces by Hispanic artists on (display -See Page HI Author G. Neri visits students ?See Page A3 m mm ? liiiiinirrimugflaaM The Chronicle Volume 41, Number 2 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, September 18,2014 Ready to RUN! Interest session for black female fitness group packs them in BY CHANEL DAVIS THE CHRONICLE Ready, Set, Get Fit! That may as well be Pam Bradsher's mantra. She was among a bevy of women who attended an information session last week held by the local chap ter of Black Girls RUN!, an iiber popu lar internation al fitnp?iv ini LaTisha Alford tiative. "I'm inter ested in the program, getting healthy and getting more exercise," Bradsher said. "I am really looking for that sup port group. Someone that will just really push me and someone who I can depend on as well. Hopefully, they can keep me motivated to exercise more." BGR! Winston-Salem leaders led the session Sept. 15 on the campus of Winston-Salem State University. More than 100 women showed up to hear about the group's "Walk Before You Run" program, which slowly guides new participants into the BGR! fold. Over 12 weeks, new members consult regularly with a group leader, complete-fitness related homework sessions and register for a virtual running program. At the end See BGR! on A7 Rwrtos by Chanel Davis Dozens of women learn about Black Girls RUN! Photos by Kevin Walker August Dark, Kalvin Michael Smith's father, speaks to sup porters at Lloyd Presbyterian Church. Below: Larry Little points to a picture of Smith as Darryl Hunt looks on. A Matter of Trust Local law enforcers reassure community in wake of Ferguson, Mo. crisis BY T. KEVIN WALKER THE CHRONICLE Hands, baton, pepper spray, laser. Winston-Salem Police Chief Barry Rounlree said Tuesday evening that officers have an array of tools at their disposal and only use the most lethal one - the gun - when absolutely neces sary. Rountree joined the county's other top law enforcers - Sheriff Bill Schatzman and District Attorney James O'Neill - at City Hall for the latest of the Human Relations Commission's annual Trust Talks, which were started three years ago to build bridges between the Police Department and public, par- r_ ticularly resi dents of color. The August shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, by a white Ferguson, Mo. police oiiicer was whal main ly drove the sparsely-attended talk. Residents - who jotted down their questions on index cards that were delivered to Human Relations Commissioner Michael Clinton to read - asked about the agen cies' racial diversity, their policies on racial profiling and about officers' train ing. Questions about the use of deadly force, especially when a suspect is unarmed, were posed in many different iterations. Schatzman said across the spectrum, the level of force used should be appro priate for the circumstance. "There is a continuum of force that all law enforcement officers are trained in." he said. The sheriff rejected notions that offi cers are blood-hungry and trigger happy. "I have never met a law enforcement officer ... who wants to hurt anyone. They are there to help." he said. Rountree contended that there are See Trust on AH Schmtzman ? I RouMree Advocates vow to win justice for Kalvin Michael Smith BY T. KEVIN WALKER THE CHRONICLE For Darryl Hunt, Sept. 11 was a day of infamy long before 2001. On thai day in 1984. Hunt, then only 19, was arrested by Winston-Salem Police in connection to the murder of Deborah Sykes a month earlier. Three days later. Hunt was charged, setting off a two decade-long nightmarish ride through the very worst of the crimi nal justice system. With alacrity, a white jury convicted African American Hunt of killing Sykes, a white woman. He was saved from death row by just one vote. His sup porters - who from the start questioned every aspect of the case, from the equivocal witnesses to the shod dy police work - helped to win him a new trial. It ended much like the first one, and Hunt was returned to prison, where he would remain until December 2003, when DNA collected at the crime scene was matched to that of another man - Willard Brown. Last Thursday, 30 years to the day of his arrest, Hunt thanked a roomful of supporters for never giving .See Hunt on A2 Hams-Perry links mental health with bias and other inequities BY CHANEL DAVIS THE CHRONICLE Melissa Harris-Perry made her first local public address Sept. 10 since she joined the faculty of Wake Forest University, her alma mater, earlier this summer. The author, professor and MSNBC talk show host keynoted a fundraiser for the Mental Health Association in Forsyth County, telling a crowd in WFU's Wait Chapel that public policy in this country is inad equate to address mental health. See Harris-Perry on A8 Hagler Pho?o b> Chanel Davit W. Randy Eaddy, a partner at Kilpatrick Stockton, introduces Melissa Harris Perry. r ??"? ? Z ? - < i | 3 =-1 I ? 1 g S 2 =- w -> ? = : y Z =: | z. 2 ^ ^ ^ 2 = ? Q? t/i ?? c/5 t -w?sS =-Sz2?^ V 4. ASSURED STORAGE of Winston-Salem, LLC i