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Lodge to honor hwdMrios
Several local businesses and three individu-;
als will be honored at the seventh annual Salem j
Lodge #139 Black History Month Community
Awards Banquet and Robert A. Miller
Scholarship Gala on
Saturday, heb. 21 at tbe
Ramada Plaza Hotel, 3050
University Pkwy.
Clark S. Brown Funeral
Home, Douthit Funeral
Services, Gilmore Funeral
Home, Hooper Funeral
Home, Johnson-Howard
Robinson Home of Memory,
Harts/if Id
Russell Mineral Home and
the National Black Theatre Festival will be hon
ored for their many years of economic develop
ment and long-standing support to the local j
community.
In addition, Ben Piggott, Council Member
James Taylor and the Rev. Samuel J. Cornelius
will be honored for their long-standing history
of service and empowerment that have con- j
tributed to the improvement of the quality of
life in the Winston-Salem community and the
greater North Carolina area.
District Court Judge Denise Hartsfield will!
be the keynote speaker. The event is a fundrais- j
er for an endowment in the name of Robert A.
Miller, a longtime community leader and one of
the first African-American news reporters at the ;
Winston-Salem Journal. Miller was a founder
of the Victory Masonic Credit Union and a
member of Salem Lodge.
"Brother Miller was an outstanding busi-j
nessman with a long affiliation with Victory ;
Masonic Credit Union and Prince Hall freema
sonry who was always willing to dispense j
knowledge and wisdom to anyone that would j
ask," said Kendrick Smith, the Worshipful
Master of Salem Lodge. To serve as a sponsor
or to purchase tickets to the event, call 336-771
2600.
Museum offers tour
The Museum of Early Southern Decorative
Arts (MESDA) at Old Salem Museums &
Gardens is offering a special tour during
February in honor of Black History Month.
The tour, titled "A Hidden Legacy: The
African American Influence in Southern
Decorative Arts," will be offered on
Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through
out the month of February. Tours will take place
at MESDA in the Frank L. Horton Museum
Center, 924 South Main St. in Winston-Salem.
On Wednesdays and Fridays (February 4,6,
11,13,18, 20, 25 and 27), tours will take place
at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
Saturday tours (7, 14, 21 and 28) will be
held at 11 a.m., with an additional 2 p.m. tour
on Feb. 21. The tour is also available by
advance appointment during regular museum
hours by calling 336-779-6140 at least one
week in advance.
Oub celebration
The Northwood Estates Know-Your- j
Neighbor Club will have its annual "African-1
American History Month" celebration on j
Monday, Feb. .23 at 7 p.m. at the Carl H. Russell
Sr. Community Center, 3521 Carver School j
Road.
The speaker/presenter will be John X.
Miller, managing editor of the Winston-Salem
Journal.
The general public is invited to attend,
however reservations are urged. Please call
(336) 767-4087 to make reservations.
Naomi W. Jones is president of the club,
and Millie T. Davidson is chairwoman of the
program committee. Rudolph V. Boone, Sr.
(vice president) is the coordinator for this par- j
ticular celebration.
Statements tn
Black History Month
Democratic National Committee (DNC) I
Chairwoman Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
released the following statement in recognition
of Black History Month:
"This February, we celebrate Black History
Month. It is an opportunity to recognize the
invaluable contributions that African
Americans have made to our nation. Through
innovations in technology, advances in medi
cine, athletic and artistic achievements, and
promoting social justice, just to name a few,
African-Americans have helped move our
nation toward a more perfect union.
The understanding and appreciation fos
tered by Black History Month strengthens our
resolve to continue on the path of progress."
Republican National Committee (RNC)
Chairman Reince Priebus released the follow
ing statement on Black History Month:
"This Black History Month, as we reflect on
the generations of African-Americans who con
tributed immensely to the fabric of our country
and to the Republican Party, let us honor their
legacy not just by what we say, but also in what
we do," Chairman Priebus said. "We pay tribute
to those who have paved the way by rededicat
ing ourselves to advancing the issues that mat
ter most, from increasing economic opportunity
to expanding educational options. It is our
responsibility as Republicans to make sure
every American, regardless of background, has
an equal opportunity to achieve their own
American Dream."
School's name reflects
Black History Month founder
CHRON ICLE STAFF REPORT
??
Black History Month began as Negro History Week in
1926, designated for the second week in February, to coin
cide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick
Douglass.
Later it branched into a monthlong recognition of black
Americans and their achievements.
Carter Godwin Woodson (December 19, 1875 - April 3,
1950) is known as the father of Black History recognition.
Jie was a black historian, author, journalist and the founder
the Association for the Study of African American Life
and History. He was a founder of "Journal of Negro
History" in 1916. Many schools set aside a time each year
to focus on Black History.
However, a charter school in Winston-Salem can focus
on Black History year-round. It bears the name of the
Father of Black History. Winston-Salem Legal Aid
Attorney Hazel Mack founded the Carter G. Woodson
School, according to the school's website.
Mack was dissatisfied with the education her daughter
was receiving at her neighborhood public school. The
Carter G. Woodson School opened in fall 1997 with 175
students.
The Carter G. Woodson School employs 57 profession
als, including school director Ruth Hopkins. The student
teacher ratio at CGWS has consistently been 16:1.
Fifty-nine percent of students at the Carter G. Woodson
School are African- American, 55 percent are
Hispanic/Latino and 2 percent are multi-racial. Over 94
percent participate in the National Free and Reduced
Lunch Program.
AP Photo/The Herald, Tracy Kimball
Members of the
Friendship 9, from
left, John Gaines,
W.T. "Dub" Massey,
Clarence Graham
and Willie McCleod
clap after a judge
declared that they
had been wrongly
convicted of trespass
ing and their records
would be tossed out
Wednesday, Jan. 28,
2015, at the Rock
Hill Municipal Court
in Rock Hill.
Famed US civil rights protesters
have convictions erased
BY MEG KINNARD
ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBIA, South Carolina ?
A judge has tossed out the convictions
of nine South Carolina black men who
integrated a whites-only lunch counter
during the height of the American civil
rights movement.
Judge Mark Hayes on Wednesday,
Jan. 28, made the ruling for the men
known as the Friendship 9.
"We fannot rewrite history, but we
can right history," the judge said. He
then signed the order, and the prosecutor
apologized to the men.
Fifty-four years ago, in 1961, eight
college students and one civil rights
organizer were convicted of trespassing
and protesting at McCrory variety store
in Rock Hill.
The men's refusal to pay bail money
into the segregationist town's city cof
fers served as a catalyst for other civil
disobedience. Inspired by their courage,
demonstrators across the South adopted
their "jail not bail" tactic and filled jail
cells. The media attention helped turn
scattered protests into a nationwide
movement.
W.T. "Dub" Massey and seven other
students at Rock Hill's Friendship Junior
College- Willie McCleod, Robert
McCullough, Clarence Graham, James
Wells, David Williamson Jr., John
Gaines and Mack Workman - were
encouraged to violate the town's Jim
Crow laws by Thomas Gaither, who
came to town as an activist with the
Congress of Racial Equality.
About a year had passed since a sit
in at a segregated lunch counter in
Greensboro, North Carolina, helped gal
vanize the nation's civil rights move
ment. But change was slow to come to
Rock Hill. They decided to challenge
matters by getting arrested in February
1961 for ordering lunch at McCrory's
variety store, and were convicted of tres
passing and breach of peace.
Author Kim Johnson, who published
"No Fear For Freedom: The Story of the
Friendship 9" last year, went to Kevin
Brackett, the solicitor for York and
Union counties, to see what could be
done to clear their records.
"This is an opportunity for us to
bring the community together," Johnson
told The Associated Press before the rul
ing. ~To have the records vacated essen
tially says that it should have never hap
pened in the first place."
Brackett's request to a Rock Hill
judge came too late for McCullough,
who died in 2006. But some of the oth
ers returned to town ahead of the hear
ing to reflect on their experience.
The men's names are engraved on
the stools at the counter of the restaurant
on Main Street, now called the Old
Town Bistro. A plaque outside marks
the spot where they were arrested. And
official and personal apologies have
been offered to the men over the years.
In 2009, a white man named Elwin
Wilson who tried to pull one of the pro
testers from a stool nearly 50 years ear
lier returned to the same counter, meet
ing with some of the men. They forgave
him.
African-American
anchorwoman to
speak on her life
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
WXII News 12 anchorwoman
Wanda Starke will talk about Black
History as part of the Carver School
n i n i_
ivoau Drancn
Library's First
Thursday
Friends Seniors
Group event.
The presen
tation will be
today (Feb. 5) at
11 a.m. at the
library, 4915
Lansing Drive.
Starke
Marke has
been with WXII for over 10 years and
is very active in the community. She
is also an award-winning journalist.
Starke will discuss "Black Life,
History and Culture," speaking on
her 37-year journey from coast to
coast and how she arrived at where
she is today.
This program is free and open to
the public. Call 336-703-2910 for
more information.
Habitat
for Humanity
of Forsyth County
Want to be a
Homeowner?
Come to an orientation
session to learn more
about the Habitat program.
Monday, Feb. 9
6 p.m.
339 Witt St.
Winston-Salem
For
more info,
fULilllLllI ?
contact
ii,,n,,
ivianna rair
Space is limited. No children, please.
76S3854, axt 131
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