Photo by Tevia Scuuoti
Rev. Dr. John Mendez
speaks during the .
memorial service for
Darryl Hunt at
Emmanuel Baptist
Church on Saturday,
March 19.
Hundreds attend memorial service for Danyl Hunt
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE .
There were few empty seats left last
Saturday afternoon at Emmanuel Baptist
Church as more than 500 people gathered
at the church located on Shalimar Drive to
celebrate the life of Darryl Hunt, a man
who was released from prison in 2004 after
serving 19 years for a murder he did not
commit.
In 1984, Hunt was wrongfully convict
ed of the rape and murder of Deborah
Sykes, a white copy editor at the Sentinel,
a newspaper in the city.
After being released, Hunt dedicated
his life to educating the public about the
flaws in the criminal justice system and
providing resources and support for those
to rebuild their lives
During the service, pastor of
Dellabrook Presbyterian Church Rev. Dr.
Carlton Eversley said although Hunt con
verted to Islam while in prison, "he never
gave up on Jesus and Jesus never gave up
on him." s
"He was determined to fight for justice, <
freedom and education," said c
Eversley."Darryl taught us how to deal t
with racist injustice without hatred, bitter'
ness and anger." 1
Eversley mentioned the best memorial 1
we can make to Hunt is to pursue the
things that he thought was important: to i
oppose the death penalty, support people 1
coming out of incarceration, and to fight
against false allegations.
Although Hunt's death has not been
officiallybeen declared a suicide, Winston
Salem police said that a gun was found
near his body and he appears to have killed
himself with a gunshot to his mid-section.
A police report noted that a gun was found
near Hunt's body and that the vehicle was
locked.
Attorney and Winston-Salem State
University professor Dr. Larry Little, one
of Hunt's closest friends and supporters, i
told those in attendance that he had found
a goodbye note. Hunt felt bad about the t
iplit from his wife and had been recently
iiagnosed with stomach and prostate can
:er and was told he only had a few months
o live.
"It was clear he was frustrated and in a
ot of pain," said Little. He wanted us to
enow that he loved this community."
Little mentioned Hunt asked the com
nunity to support his ex-wife and not to
orget about Kalvin Michael Smith, who is
rurrently serving a 29-year sentence for a
:rime many believe he did not commit.
Other speakers during the service
ncluded, N.C. NAACP president Rev.
William J. Barber, and Rev. Dr. John
Vlendez who was also one of Hunt's clos
;st friends.
Barber said that after he got the news
af Hunt's death, he sat for a moment very
still and tried to find the words to describe
the life of someone who had become a
[fiend, brother comrade, and a hero to peo
ple across the nation.
"Those who are resurrected from injus
tice die again and again from the pain bom
>f hurt endured that never should have
>een," continued Barber. "When our
leroes fall we can't die, not now. We who
ire still alive must try one more time to
lonor them, to honor justice, to honor
Darryl."
Pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church
ind community activist Rev. Dr. Mendez
laid we must not blame Darryl for his
leath because the system of oppression is
vhat truly is responsible.
Following the service, a number of res
dents said they decided to attend the
nemorial service because they were
noved by the work Hunt did following his
elease from prison.
"After all he went through so much, he
lever showed any anger or ill will towards
my one," said Tiffany Robinson from
Winston-Salem.
"He helped so many people turn their
ives and touched many more. He will
ruly be missed."
Photo by Tevin Sanson
Early Head Start teacher Nahesha McCatty
helps a student wash her hands inside one of
four newly renovated classrooms at the Sarah
Y. Austin facility located on Big House Gaines
Boulevard.
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news@whmnicle?orn
Early Head Start
classrooms open
in Forsyth County
Family Services
awarded $2.2
million to bring
program to area
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Family Services has
officially opened all the
funded classrooms for its
Early Head Start Program
in Forsyth County, the first
such program in the county.
The organization
opened four EHS class
rooms at the Sarah Y.
Austin campus, the pri
mary site for the Head Start
program that the agency
has funded in Forsyth
County for 50 years.
President and CEO of
Family Services Bob
Feikema said that without a
program like Early Head
Start, high quality educa
tion is hard to come by for
low-income families.
"We are thrilled to have
the sites open and serving
our community's youngest
children," said Feikema.
The educational invest
ment into Early Head Start
boosts the development of
the young brain." ?
Family Services
opened the classrooms ear
lier this month.
Late last year, Family
Services was awarded $2.2
million in federal funding
to bring the first Early
Head Start (EHS) program
to Forsyth County. Early
Head Start serves families
with children ages birth
1
through 3 and low-income
pregnant women.
Created by the 1994
Head Start Reauthorization
Act, the federally funded
preschool program is
designed to meet emotion
al, social, health, nutrition
al and psychological needs.
Currently there are 117
children participating in the
program at different sites
throughout the county.
According to Feikema,
the four EHS classrooms at
the Sarah Y. Austin cam
pus, 2050 Big House
Gaines Blvd., needed
extensive renovations in
order to meet state and
local regulatory compli
ances. As a result of the
remodel, the once-empty
rooms have been trans
formed into state-of-the-art
classrooms fit for the care
and education of infants
and toddlers.
EHS teacher Nahesha
McCatty said on
Wednesday, March 2, that
she is proud to be teaching
in the program. A former
student in the Head Start
program. McCatty men
tioned that it is vital to the
developmental process.
"Early education is
very important," she con
tinued. "I know sometimes
it gets overlooked, but the
first years are the most crit
ical years."
McCatty noted that
what she likes most about
the program is that she gets
to build relationships with
the families. She said with
home visits and other
things included in the pro
gram the students feel more
comfortable.
"When we visit their
homes, we get a chance to
see the children in their
own environment," said
McCatty. "So when they
come to the classrooms,
they aren't as scared
because they have seen us
in their own homes, which
makes the transition a lot
easier."
A family advocate is
also provided for each fam
ily, and parents are given
the opportunity to engage
in classroom activities and
participate on the decision
making body for the pro
gram by serving on parent
committees.
During a recent visit to
the Sarah Y. Austin cam
pus, a number of parents
said they were excited that
their children have the
opportunity to participate
in the program. Erika
Tillman said she believes
the program will build the
groundwork and offer
skills that will stay with her
daughter for a lifetime.
"As a mother, I am very
excited and feel that my
child will gain from this
program, socially, emotion
ally, and will strengthen her
language and learning
skills."
The Forsyth County
EHS programs' waiting list
currently has 538 children
on it. Feikema told The
Chronicle that he is expect
ing more funds to become
available to create more
Early Head Start and Head
Start programs.
A ******
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