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Winston-Salem Chronicte
50 cants ? . The Twin City's Award-Winning Weekly" VOL. XVI, No. 24
"/ supported it (the
resolutionof intent)
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because I nave that
right."
-Vivian Burke
Historic civil rights
protest reenacted
Plaque erected in honor of
four who sat at lunch counter
By ROBIN BARKSDALE
Chronicle Staff Writer
Thirty years ago, David Richmond stood in the
commons area of North Carolina A&T State University's
campus and waited for some of his buddies. They had
something important to do, but deep inside, he said, he
was hoping they wouldn't come But his pals did show up
that Feb. 1, 1960 afternoon, and the four together
launched a sit-in movement that would sweep through
the South.
Last week, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary
of the historic WooIworthrs lunch-counter sit-ins, the
Greensboro Four, sitting in the lobby of one of the
largest hotels in the city, talked about the events and atti
tudes that led to their bold actions.
"We felt anxiety but we also felt a need to express
our leadership," said Joseph McNeil, whom the other
three credit with the idea to stage the sit-in at Wool
worth's. "But I think people all over the country felt that
way."
Mr. McNeil and Mr. Richmond, along with fellow
freshmen, Ezell Blair Jr. (now Jibreel Khazan) and Frank
McCain, purchased supplies at Woolworth's and then
took a seat at the store's lunch-counter.^Realizing that
blacks were not allowed to be served in the store, the
four nonetheless politely asked for service. They wfcre
refused service by the store's waitress who informed
them that Woolworth's did not serve blacks. But the four
persisted, arguing that the store did indeed serve blacks
because they had been served at another store counter
Please see page A11
Board approves annexation timetable
By TONYA V. SMITH voted with Aldermen Lynne S.
Chronicle Staff Writer Harpc Robert s Northington Jr.,
Nancy T. Pleasants and J. Hugh
Aldermen Larry >V. Womble Wright ( Virginia K. Newell was
and Nelson L. Malloy Jr. were the absem) ^ improving a resolution of
sole dissenters Monday night when imem which xa a timclabie for the
the city board approved a schedule a^^on process. The resolution
for an annexation that_would bring pU|s jnt0 motion the first-phase of
8,000 people into the city. the annexation process. During the
Although she said she does nqt next two years the city is planning
favor annexations that dilute Afro- on undertaking two major annexa
American voting power, Northeast tions, the first of which could be
Ward Alderman Vivian H. Burke approved by aldermen on June 4
and go into effect in June 1991.
Alderman Burke told the
Chronicle last week that she could
not support annexation because it
would dilute the Afro-American
vote. Before the vote, Mrs. Burke
made it clear that she was not vot
ing for annexation. However, unlike
Alderman Womble - who said he
realized supporting a timetable for
annexation did not mean he was
supporting annexation, but still
opted to vote against the resolution
of intent because he opposes forced
annexation - Mrs. Burke approved
of the annexation calendar. In an
interview Tuesday, Mrs. Burke
explained why she Voted for tlfe res
olution of intent
"They (the white aldermen) had
the votes to do it any way, and there
are people in my area, who live in
the northern most part of my ward,
who may want to have the opportu
Please see page A11
Greensboro Sit-In ... 30 Years Later
~ _? Photo by Talib Sabir-Calloway
Standing over the likeness of their footprints, the Greensboro Four who sat at a Woo (worth lunch counter 30 years ago this month see
their names memorialized forever. From left are Jlbreel Khazan (Ezell Blair), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and David Richmond.
Redistricting unfair to black students, some say
By TONYA V. SMITH
Chrornde Staff Writer
The fact that Afro-American elementary students
will be spending more time on their school bus is not the
major concern of blacks who opposed the .creation of a
new district for Piney Grove Elementary School, said the
Rev. William S. Fails, a candidate for the city-county
Board of Education. More important is what that
increased transportation will mean in the areas of student
performance and student safety, he said.
Monday night the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County
Board of Education approved creating another district,
from which students would be pulled, for the new Piney
Grove Elementary School slated to open in August. Cash
and Kernersville elementary schools' districts will be
rezoned from two to three. Afro-American students will
come from a satellite district in East Winston. Those
students in grades one through five now spend about 45
minutes, one way, to get to their elementary school. That
time will increase to one hour each way when the stu
dents are enrolled in Piney Grove.
Rev. Fails, an outspoken advocate of black chil
dren's rights, said, "I hope folks don't get the wrong
impression about our children spending so much time on
the bus. Not a whole lot of the complaints were about
them riding the bus. The concerns were about the dan
gers of traveling country roads and highway interstates
in rush hour traffic.
^Also, the amount of time it takes the children to get
to school and from school cuts down on their productivi
ty in school and prevents them from doing some of the
things they have to do at home. All of this combined
adds a certain amount of frustration to the child's day."
Teachers will most likely be insensitive to the frus
trations the Afro-American youth are facing, added Rev.
Fails, who pastored Hanes Memorial CME Church until
he was assigned by his bishop to pastor Mount Carmel
CME Church in Anderson, S.C.
"We'd be foolish to say that the kids don't enjoy the
bus ride because they do because they like to go. But
they will be tired from the long ride," Rev. Fails said. "It
also seems to us that there are more black kids spending
excess time on the bus than are white kids. Not having a
school that is germane to our neighborhood forces our
kids to spend a disproportionate time on the bus.
"With the advent of neighborhood schools or
schools in our community, we could get an equitable
distribution of who rides the bus ami possibly put the
shoe on the other foot for a change and see the com
plaints come at us from white parents.
MIf we did all this to achieve racial desegregation,
maybe we need to rethink what we want for all children.
If the children are not at their best when it's time to per
form, a tag of mediocrity is placed on them. They need
Please see page A10 ?
Developer trying to get Lowe's Foods in E. Winston
By TONYA V. SMITH
Chrooicto Staff Writef
Intense negotiations are underway Hetween the
developer of a shopping center slated for East Winston
and potential anchor tenants - among them are represen
tatives with Lowe's Foods.
Herman L. Turner, the developer of the New Walk
ertown Market Shopping Center has been courting
anchor tenants for more th$n seven months and trying to
persuade them to locate in the $4 million project, which
? could provide up to 150 new jobs for East Winston Resi
dents.
"We arc negotiating with a number of grocery
stores, Lowe's Foods being one of those grocery stores.
and we are very encouraged by the negotiations," said
Mr. Turner.
Nearly six months ago, Mr. Turner said he was ?
about 45 days away from finalizing a deal with an
anchor tenant. He explained that the process has been
such a lengthy one because of the location of the project
and the amount of the investment. He has estimated that
the facility the grocery store constructs wilPbe a $1.1
million investment.
The grocery stores just are not certain about the
long term viability or profitability of the East Winston
market," he said. "We have had to spend a lot of time
working with them proving the site - presenting graphics
information to them depicting consumer spending in the
area of consumer goods. Because this is a pioneer pro
ject, it takes a lot of time to get them comfortable with
the project."
Phase one of the market is already underway. The
city Board of Aldermen agreed in November act as
guarantor for a $350,000 loan to build an ABC store on
an out parcel of the site. New Walkertown Market will
be built on 9.3 acres of land located off New Walker
town Road between Dellabrook Road and Gerald Street.
Extended negotiations tod other arrangements have
somewhat delayed the project which was first scheduled
for a spring 1990 opening and that was extended to the
summer of 1990. Mr. Turner said he hopes to finish
Please see page A10
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Black History Special
A5 A8
arvey Ciann, former mayor of Charlotte along
with his wife announced, before a crowd of well
wishers and supporters, his intention to put hia
name in contention for the Democratic party's U.
S. Senator. Citing Jesse Helms as the only
enemy and his true opponent, Gantt pledged to
run a clean campaign.
Please see page A3
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