'Honor Your Father" march and speaker center on support BY FELECIA PIGGOTT LONG. PHD FOR THE CHRONICLE "Black Lives Matter!" "Red Lives Matter!" "White Lives Matter!" "All Lives Matter!" "All People Matter!" "All Women Matter, All Men Matter, All Fathers Matter!" "All Mothers Matter!" "All Children Matter!" "All Churches Matter!" "Our Community Matters!" "All Babies Matter!" These calls and responses continued in this fashion as Ben Piggott, center supervisor of the Carl Russell Recreaition Center, led the participants in the fourth annual "Honor Your Father Unity March." More than 60 followers marched from the nearby Solid Rock Baptist Church parking lot, where they met for prayer and solidarity. Piggott hugged each marcher one by one and thanked them for being involved. They marched behind a black hearse driven by H.E. Alberto W. Lorenzo, world director of the United Nations of Indians. The group claimed much atten lion as they advanced down Carver School Road on the afternoon of Sunday, June 7. Neighbors and their chil dren came outside of their houses. Cars pulled over to Ill it K C room for the group and to ask ques tions about t h e march. Community volunteers greeted the marchers with bottled water as they entered the recreation cen ter. The group was com prised of supporters from various churches, fraterni ties, sororities and commu nity organizations. They ended up at the Carl Russell Recreation Center for the annual "Honor Your Father 2015" gathering, where Dr. Lenwood G. Davis, retired Winston-Salem State University history profes sor, served as the keynote speaker. Several fathers were honored for their mentoring efforts: Davis, Coach Brian Leak, Coach Andrew Williams, Leroy Richardson Jr., and Ben Piggott, who was honored by his nieces Reynita McMillan and Asha Piggott. When Davis walked to the front of the room, some of his former students from WSSU cheered for him. "I want to thank Mr. Piggott for inviting me here today. He and I are work ing on a book about the life and times of four early Prince Hall Masons, and it should be out by the end of the year," Davis said. Davis discussed the value of the extended fami ly system that was passed down from the African con tinent and was brought to the United States. "If the father were sold to another plantation, it has always been important to have an authority figure in the home, whether it was a father, a grandmother, uncle or grandfather. Someone had to raise the child in the slave cabin," Davis said. Davis focused on three men of historical signifi cance as fathers and lead Davis Projects from page A1 pavement, replacing 10 bridges and improving ramps for more efficient traffic flow. This project is to last for two years. Connie James, deputy director of transportation, presented a slideshow that gave more details about the Business 40 project. "What the consultant has looked at in the traffic models, the capacity that's going to be necessary dur ing the closure of Business 40 is not conducive to the two-way ~ movements because of signal timing issues," James said. "So this would be something the two-way conversions would happen after the pro ject's complete." A public survey was conducted by Davenport in which 630 respondents gave their feedback about the downtown street study. The public is in favor of converting Main and Liberty streets to two-way traffic. They would also like to see First and Second streets converted to two way, better pedestrian accommodations and street improvements on these main roads as well as more parking spots. "At the end of the day, we want more tourists to drive to Winston in a way that they would have a feel ? of the downtown area," said Frank Amenya, project manager. "We also want to have pedestrians feel safe walking downtown and those who ride bikes to also feel safe." Amenya also spoke of making accommodations to curb people speeding through downtown and making more parking avail able for tourists without conflicting with business parking. "Bottom line is that we need to improve downtown and how we get in and out of downtown." said Walt Kinsey, resident and busi ness owner. "It takes peo ple from all walks of life having an emphasis to see it move forward. There's a need for people who're interested in the change and who will speak up for the change. Not just any change, but something that will be beneficial to the community." Council Member Jeff Macintosh of the Northwest Ward was excit ed about the study while giving details about traffic calming and safety. "I lived in this neigh borhood for over 10 years and did a bunch of restora tion work," Macintosh said. ? "Post construction, making the two-way traffic conver sion will feel more residen tial and feel less like a highway. It will feel more like a neighborhood street, so it's positive for people who want to walk to get to downtown." Macintosh relayed that the downtown project is expected to begin late 2017, early 2018. In spite of the traffic detours and delays that's ahead, he feels it'll be worth it in the long run. The next formal presen tation is scheduled for Thursday, July 9, at the Old Salem Visitors Center. Afterward, the project will be submitted for City Council's approval in the fall. To find out more about the Downtown Study, go to www.wsdowntownstreet study.com. For more infor mation about the Business 40 project, go to www.busi ness40nc.com UI/IC live*. ers: Joseph Charles Price, the founder of Livingstone College; James E. Shepard, founder of North, Carolina Central University, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Davis is the father of one daughter, and although he and her mother divorced, he made it a pri ority to include his daugh ter I his life. "A father needs to sup port his child by going to games, concerts, recitals. Children need to know they have support. My wife and I divorced, but when my daughter was inducted into the National Honor Society, I flew out to Oregon, although I could only stay a few hours. I was teaching at Ohio State. 1 wanted to be with her," Davis said. "One year, her mother went to England to stay for two weeks. I stayed in the hotel to take care of my daughter and made sure she did her homework." Davis also brought his daughter to live in Winston-Salem while her mother completed her dis sertation. He resigned from the University of Delaware even though he took a large cut in his salary. "It was the right thing to do. I did not want to have to look back and say that I wish I had been there for her. I did not want to have to regret my decision. I did all I could do for my daughter. I have no regrets," Davis said. "As a father, you should do all that you can to support that child. Support them finan cially and spiritually. Reinforce the ideals, the family structure. The extended family concept is African. There must always be an authority figure in the household." Sophomore Dion Brinson Jr.?who will attend Carver High School in the fall, delivered a spoken word piece called "Our Dad." Minister Effinguan Muhammad of Nation of Islam Mosque #56 informed the audience about the upcoming cele bration for the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March. Nakjda McDaniels, lead organizer on the staff of Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods (NBN), spoke to the audience about gaining access to resources for their communities through the NBN. The marchers line up to follow behind the hearse* representing the loss of valu We have been serving our community for 30 years, and we've learned a lot about the needs of friends, neighbors and family members facing life-limiting illnesses. Annually, we help more than 700 patients and families, and we're here for you too. 'HOSPICE of Davidson County I 200 Hospice Way ? Lexington, NC 27292 ? 336-475-5444 ? 1-800-768-4677 ? HoapiceOfDavidson.org A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS GOLD SPONSORS j Winston-Salem Federal Credit Union unnragimmMfl VILLAGE TAVERN ?Harris Teeter WHislnnSalrm INMTAINMENT M#4