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The Chronicle
Volume43,Number31? WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, April 7, 2016
lawmakers tackle dropout issue
Fact-finding tour honoring
Parmon will also address
student suspensions
BY TEV1N STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
The NC Legislative Black Caucus (NCLBC) is
inspecting school districts across the state to find out why
there seems to be a disproportionate number of suspen
sions and dropouts among minority students.
The rate for short-term suspen
sions is about three for every It)
black students and long-term suspen
sions are about 153 per every 100,000
black students.
In honor of former Sen. Earline
Parmon, the NCLBC kicked off an
education tour in which caucus mem
bers will meet with administrators
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Rep. Hants sion rates and find the root cause of
the problem.
Caucus members kicked off their fact-finding tour ear
lier this week during a joint press conference with the
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Ministers' Conference of Winston-Salem and Vicinity
(MCWSV).
Chairman of the NCLBC, Rep. Garland Pierce, said
education and dropout rates were very important to
Parmon, which is why the caucus decided to undertake the
initiative.
In the early 2000s, Parmon founded the now-defunct
LIFT Academy, working with minority and at-risk youth.
Many of the students who attend the high school had been
shunned away by traditional schools.
"Former Senator Ear line Parmon fought for schools
throughout this state," Pierce said. /
MCWSV Third Vice President Pastor Alvin Carlisle
Sec Issue on A2
Caldwell,
Dalton-Rann
gain top honors
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
FOR THE CHRONICLE 'Z
Because of their tremendous work in the community,
Alan Caldwell, director of Corporate and Civic
Engagement at Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), and
RaVfonda Dalton-Rann, executive assistant to the chancel
lor and university sec
Salem State University
(WSSU), will be hon
ored with the highest ccm/irr
distinction at The Mu
~ ChftJhicle's 31st annual Hw /) { J J yJB'
Community Service J Mm
Awards Gala
The community
service awards event
was created to recognize those individuals who benefit the
overall quality of life for the community, many of whom .
are often unsung heroes who go about their daily lives
helping to improve the conditions of the city according to
Chronicle Publisher Emeritus Emie Pitt.
"The affair is simply a way for us to thank them pub
licly for their concerns and efforts on behalf of our com
munity," Pitt continued.
Dalton-Rann has worked under five chief administra
See Honors on A2
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Hatred inspired Viola Davis,
she tells W-S audience
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Award-winning actress Viola
Davis makes no apologies: She said
overcoming obstacles such as pover
ty and both racial
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crimination is
what makes her a
true hero for
women of color
everywhere.
And her
determination to
take control of
her career has
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new heights.
Davis, the star of ABC's "How to
Get Away with Murder," spoke on the
campus of Wake Forest last weekend
as part of the sixth annual Reynolda
Film Festival.
Davis was raised in the rural area
of Rhode Island. She grew up poor
and was constantly teased by her
white classmates for being different.
Although she admits it was hard to
endure, she said she used the hatred
from her classmates as inspiration.
"You never know what's going to
inspire you," said Davis, "Inspiration
comes from a lot of different places. I
was determined ta use all the bad
things they said about me as fuel, and
that's exactly what I did."
"I overcame all of that and
returned with the sweet elixir. That's
the journey of a true hero."
Davis is the first African
American woman to win an Emmy
Award for Outstanding Lead Actress
in a Drama Series. She also won the
Stage Actors Guild Award for
Outstanding Performance in a Drama
Series, and the Image Award for
Outstanding Actress in a Drama
Series.
Davis told the more than 1,000
students in attendance that the
moment she saw Cicely Tyson star in
"The Autobiography of Miss Jane
Pittman" she wanted to become a
actor. Davis mentioned what she saw
from Tyson was magic.
"In the midst of this poverty, it
was like the wind stopped blowing
and the air stopped moving," she con
tinued. "It was art. That's when I
knew what I wanted to do."
Over the years, Davis has starred
in a number of well-known films,
including "Antwone Fisher," "Get
Rich or Die Tryin," "Doubt."
In 2011, Davis was nominated for
Best Actress at the Academy Awards
See Davis on A2
"In the midst of
this poverty, it was
like the wind
stopped blowing
and the air stopped
moving.99
-Viola Davis
Conference
designed to teach
how to secure
worship centers
BY TEVIN ST1NSON
THE CHRONICLE
After serving more than 30 years in law enforcement
and training on local, state and federal levels, Winston
Salem's own Bobby Kimbrough is looking to help the
local faith-based community to develop security aware
ness.
Kimbrough has decided that now is the time to educate
local faith communities on how to maintain safety from
the parking lot to the pulpit.
In 2014, Kimbrough was appointed director of securi
ty for Global United Fellowship by presiding Bishop Neil
See Center* on A2
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