'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
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