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"The
Greatest"
ni Hi
the Chronicle
Volume43,Number40 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.? THURSDAY, June 9, 2016
John Larson, Josh Braimon
win primary contests
5th District race will
repeat in the fall
BY TODD LUCK
FOR THE CHRONICLE
John Larson decisively won the Gity
Council South Ward primary that was held
again during the June 7 primary.
Carolyn
CAMPAIGN president of
the Konnoak
I I _ Community
Association,
won the
March 15 pri
mary by just six votes with 2J029 votes to
Larson's 2,023 votes, before the State
Board of Elections ordered a re-election
due to election errors. Tuesday's turnout
was far lower and the victory far larger
with Larson receiving 962 votes to
Highsmith's 562.
Larson, vice president of restoration at
Old Salem Museum and Gardens, will
face Republican Michael Taylor in
November.
"It sort of validates obviously the
protest that we offered back in March, and
validates the work we did to allow people
to vote that had been disenfranchised,"
said Larson.
Larson's election protest to the Board
of Elections involved voters who received
the wrong ballot and were not able to vote
in the South Ward primary when they
should have. Larson said he believed there
were less errors this time and commended
the Board of Elections on its efforts.
Larson credited the hard work of his
See Primary on A2
Photo by Tevin Stinson
A model displays a custom made dress during the 21 Ray's fashion show held at Quality Education Academy
on Thursday June 6. 21 Ray's is a fashion line designed by Rayon Johnson, a former student at QEA.
? ? ? ? -* ? am -a ?
ieen s clothing line
explodes onto the scene
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Many teenagers have dreams of one day becoming
fashion designers, but very few actually see it happen. On
the other hand, some teens are bigger doers than dream
ers. Like Rayonna Johnson, who turned that dream into
reality before her high school graduation.
Johnson's clothing line, 21Ray's exploded on to the
scene last Thursday evening during a fashion show held at
Quality Education Academy (QEA), where Johnson has
been a student since middle school.
From African print skirts and
dresses for women and young
girls to T-shirts for men and boys,
the 21Ray's collection is sure to
have something that will catch
your eye. While discussing her journey into the world of
fashion, Johnson said as early as elementary school she
would sketch drawings of designs.
"I just love fashion. That's all 1 can say," Johnson
smiled during an interview with The Chronicle.
"I can't really remember when I first started, but I do
know fashion and art have always been passions of mine,"
she said. "I always knew that this is what I wanted to do."
Soon after receiving a sewing machine, Johnson
began to transform her sketches into clothes to wear to
school - she even made her own prom dress for junior
prom last year. Member of the executive leadership team
at QEA Tamara Turner said after seeing Johnson sport
some of her original designs to school, she encouraged
her to turn her hobby into a business.
"The pieces that she wore to school were very cie
See Clothing on A2
/vr monvrnuua nruns
In this Dec. f7,2005, file photo, boxing legend
Muhammad Ali poses in Berlin, Germany. Ali, the
magnificent heavyweight champion whose fast fists
and irrepressible personality transcended sports and
captivated the world, died June 3.
EXCLUSIVE
'The Greatest'
had strong ties
to N. Carolina
BY CASH MICHAELS
FOR THE CHRONICLE
As the world stops to say goodbye Friday, and three
time heavyweight champion of the world, Muhammad
Ali, who died June 3 at age 74, is laid to rest in his home
town of Louisville, Ky? there are many right here in North
Carolina who also hold fond memories of personally
knowing and working with "the Champ."
Ali had many friends in the state, dating back to his
early days as a heavyweight champion. Two of them were
Minister Kenneth and Sister Margaret Rose Murray
Muhammad of Raleigh.
It certainly is a tremen- ?
clous loss to lose him," Ms.
Murray-Muhammad, a
retired educator, recalled
when reached by phone
Saturday morning, hours
after the world woke up to _
news of his death at a
Phoenix, Ariz, hospital Friday night. "But, he's in a better
place."
The Murray-Muhammads became good friends with
Ali and during the down times when he wasn't training for
an upcoming fight, Ali would^come down to Raleigh and
stay with the Murray-Mwwundads at their West Raleigh
home. "He was so vibrant and full of life," Mrs. Murray
Muhammad says. "We were happy to have him come to
our home, and he would have been sort of incognito if my
neighbor didn't recognize him and told everybody."
After a laugh, she added, "But he took it in stride."
After Ali retired from boxing after 1980, he remained
close with the Murray-Muhammads and in 1986, he was
the guest of honor at the O. A. Dupree Scholarship
Banquet at Shaw University in Raleigh at their invitation.
A literal who's-who of North Carolina political, civic and
academic leaders attended, and though Ali's speech was
slurred due to his Parkinson's Disease, he told the audi
ence how proud he was to be a Muslim, how he was now
spending his retirement traveling the world with his wife,
Lonnie, giving away autographed copies of the Holy
Qu'ran, and bringing joy to people wherever and whenev
er he could.
"I enjoyed introducing him," scholarship committee
member Geoffrey Simmons recalls proudly. Virtually
every North Carolina cm- Raleigh dignitary who delivered
See AH N.C. on A4
__
See more stories on
Muhammad Ali on
pages A4, A5, A6
and B1.
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