THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1991
HAPPY KWANZAA
/
24 PAGES THIS WEEK
75 cents
"The Twin City's Award-Winning Weekly"
VOL. XVIII, NO. 18
ON THE
AVANT-GARDE
By TANG NIVRI
j? aaWPIentWt:
.4 <' > J.. ?. ^ ""ist .jfrfadfy.
meet Irma Hall is that this tea woman who has
tot tolutiy&e world's warmest heart She is the
a. Ask
which
to^howi^ou
both eloquently and with conviction concerning
the future of blacks in America. lima says her
grandmother would do this so that her children
? her offspring would also strong children. It
was her grandmother who was also the herb doc
tor who, although she never went to medical
school, always knew what to dig; 141 and mix
together in order to fight my kind of disease ?
including typhoid fever.,1a fact, Irma is writing a
(day about her ancestry. Her list Of credits we a
mile long and include films neb as Backdraft.
Valentines Day, George McKenna Story, The
Kid Who Loved Christmas, Gabriel's Fire,
Brewsters Place ... you get the picture. Irma is
quite the lady.
Make sure you ask William Benson Terry
(Bill) to tell you a story. In fact, it's just about
impossible for you to name someone that Bill
Ibrry didn't wok with or knows personally. And
maAcanhe tell a few stories. After all, if you've
been around as long as he has you are bound to
know a few things about a few people.
cf This delightful man, and very talented actor
who loves to play, compose and sing the bhses
has been a performer for several decades. You
have seen him in The Great White Hope. Serpi*
vr Cotton Comes to Harlem, Law and Order, to
:(In feet he ttained James Earl Jones
la preparing for his leading role in the Great
White Hope). On stage, William Benson Terry
has done everything from Waiting for Godot to
Purttt Victorious. And if you were to ask him
what was the central theme guiding him in every
thing he has tried to do throughom his life, it
would be working for equal rights for black folks
throughout our entire society. BUI Terry served as
bodyguard to Paul Robeson and like Robeson,
was a victim of McCarthyism. Ask him to tell
you what it was like to really be concerned about
Please see page A6
Kwanzaa holiday now underway
African-Americans pay tribute
to their culture and heritage
By YVETTE N. FREEMAN
Community News Editor
The East Winston Branch Public Library
will once again host the city's 12th Annual
Kwanzaa Celebration.
The Kwanzaa Celebration, which has
become a Christmas tradition in the African
American community, actually begins today,
Dec. 26, and will continue through January 1.
The culmination of the celebration, however,
will be held on December 31, from 7-9 p.m.
Kwanzaa was first started in 1966 by Dr.
Maulana Karenga, a Black Studies professor,
as a way for African-Americans to recognize
and pay tribute to their African culture ano
ancestors. The word Kwanzaa, which crimes
from the East African language of Kiswahili,
means wthe first" or "the first of the harvest."
Kwanzaa is based on seven principles known
as Nguzo Saba ? Umoja (Unity), Kujichagu
lia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective
Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Coopera
tive Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kummba
(Creativity), and Imani (Faiih).
"One of the things that we want to do,"
said Tim Jackson, branch manager of the East
Winston Library, "is to make ourselves better
than we were the year before. And by adher
ing to these principles, hopefully, at the end
of the year, we can look back and we can be
thankful that we have made it."
In addition to the seven principles,
Kwanzaa also has seven basic symbols whicti
represent and reinforce what the holiday is all
about. Those symbols are Mazao (fruit and
vegetables), Mkeka (place mat), Kinara (the
candle holder for seven candles, one black,
Please see page A3
The Kwanzaa holiday is represented by seven symbols displayed
during the Karamu, or feast. Kwanzaa begins today and will contin
ue through January 1.
* * . ?
iff
A Christmas Celebration!
All Amer, co- owner of the 311 Grocery store, recently hosted a
Christmas party at the store In Jetway Shopping Center for kids
in the community on Monday, Dec. 23.
1991 'Parade of Stars'
to break new ground
Chronicle Staff Report
After more than a decade of success
and innovation, the 1991 "Lou Rawls
Parade of Stars" telethon will once again
break new ground on Saturday, Dec, 28,
when the star-studded special is broad
cast across the nation to benefit the Unit
ed Negro College Fund (UNCF).
For the first time in its 12-year his
tory, portions of the "Parade of Stars"
will originate from the historic Apollo
Theatre in Harlem, the landmark venue
that served as a springboard for many
black entertainers.
Also on the list of "firsts" for this
year's show, which is approaching rev
enues of nearly $90 million in cash and
pledges, is the telethon debut of many
new and talented artists. "Color Me
Badd," Oleta Adams, "Boyz II Men,"
Tara Kemp and Keith Washington are
among the hot new talent who will
appear on the seven-hour special.
Jacket, the vivacious and sultry
actress of n22T fame, will co-host the
show for the first time; and the new
President and Chief Executive Officer of
UNCF, William H. Gray III, will lead the
College Fund's call to American viewers
for financial contributions.
Telethon host and grammy award
winning singer, Lou Rawls, will lead the
star-studded roster of entertainers that is
scheduled to include superstars Bill
Please see page A3
Community says yes to
East.Winston school
Many have questions, want input
in plans for school's development
By SHERIDAN HILL
Chronicle Staff Writer
Many members of the black community
are wholeheartedly in favor of a school in
East Winston, and have plenty of questions
and ideas about how it would work.
Superintendent Larry Coble has pro
posed a school fashioned somewhat after the
new Downtown school, with required
parental involvement and a low teacher/stu
dent ratio. Nobody disagrees with that con
cept, but there are numerous questions about
who would attend the school and who would
staff it.
Beaufort Bailey, a long-time school
board member until last year, is concemcd
about the motives of some whites, who have
always been against bussing and who now
support the idea of an all-black school. He
also has a suggestion about the location of
the school.
"I would like to see the school be locat
ed at Diggs. It's at the corner of Vargravc
and Waughtown, and we could draw from
the neighborhood. We own Diggs, and it's in
good condition."
Walter Marshall, who directs education
al programs for the NAACP, is also con
ccrned about motives. "What's in it forfte
black community? What is the community
at large trying to do? We need a school with
a special curriculum designed for the learn
ing styles of children who don't fit the edu
cational mold. It would work for white stu
dents as well. You don't have to attach the
stigma of race to it"
Alderman Vivian Burke, who is a high
school educational counselor, says she rep
resents and works with a number of black
students who can't read, and plans on close
ly monitoring the development of the
school.
Burke says inner city students need
additional classes and after school activities
to help them understand they can "properly
exist in the community." She also suggested
that the black/white student ratio should be a
reverse of what we have now (38 percent
black), "so that minorities can feel what it's
like to be a majority and see leaders from
their ethnic group."
Rev. William S. Fails, who works with
the LIFT (Learning Is Fun Too) program,
hopes the school will be a predominantly
black elementary school, because he feels
Please see page A3
Lou Rawts, Nancy Wilson, and Ed McMahon wilt co-host tha tatathon, along
with Jackat, Clint Holmaa, and Marilyn McCoo.
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