Power^oncedesjiothing without a struggle
Frederick Douglass
PAGE A3
THURSDAY, ApRIL 1, 1993
Winston* Salem Chronicle
PAQEB3
VOL XIX, No. 31
Jennings Benefit
Basketball game honoring police officer
raises money for daughter Nla.
Basketball Action
Catch the Hanes Hosiery Invitational
Tournament Basketball championship.
IN OUR SCHOOLS
EXPULSIONS:
Are Black Students Targeted?
Blacks Are Expelled at 4
Times the Rate of Whites
The Chronicle has learned that African-American students are being
suspended and expelled at a far higher percentage than white students in
the Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County School system. A detailed look at our
findings is outlined in this special report called "In Our Schools."
First of a two-part series
By MARK R. MOSS
Chronicle Staff Writer
In the Winston-Salem/Forsvth County Schooljystem, where Macks
comprise just over a third of the student population, the number of blacks"
recommended for expulsion is nearly four times the number o { whites.
Of the 286 students recommended for expulsion from the middle and
high schools in the first half of this school term, 206 were black, school
records show.
A breakdown by school shows that the highest number of students rec
ommended for expulsion was at R.J. Reynolds High School. Of Reynold
36 recommendations for expulsion, 33 were black. The second-highest fig
ure was at North Forsyth High, where 17 of the 26 students rec
ommended for expulsion were black.
A SPECIAL REPORT
There are about 37,500 students in the school system and I
about 13,800, or 36 percent, are black. Expulsions are recom
mended following a 10-day suspension.
Schools Superintendent Larry Coble in an interview sug
gested that a reason for the disparate numbers is that an overwhelmingly
white school faculty is not adept in dealing with black students.
"We aren't skilled with dealing wlfh cultural diversity," Coble said.
"The research suggests that individuals and systems respond to minorities
differently than they do for whites."
Some principals and members of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County
Board of Education offered a myriad of opinions as to why blacks students
are expelled from school at a rate four times that of white students.
Reynolds Principal Stan Elrod said the problems might be that the
expelled student has very little parental guidance or involvement.
y Black Principals
? Black Teachers
/ LIFT
? Student Interviews
? Guest Columns
/Statistics
"You end up having to talk to the child like an adult and that makes
matters more complicated," he said.
Elrod, who refers to himself as a "student's principal," said his three
assistant principals ? one of whom is black ? work closely with students
seemingly headed toward trouble. Reynolds has about 1,250 students ? 65
percent of whom are white and 35 percent of whom are black.
North Forsyth Principal Kate Schott blamed "socio-economic" condi
tions for the disproportionate number of blacks who were expelled from her
school. She said that behavorial problems are not "peculiar to any ethnic
Please see page A7
N*a*t*i*o*n*a*l
NEWS
White Prof Sues St Aug.
RALEIGH (AP) ? Students at St. Augus
tine's College have dedicated their yearbook to a
white professor suing the school because it denied
him tenure because of his race. Professor Allan
Cooper says he wants to be judged not by the color
of his skin, but by his accomplishments.
"It was strange," said Carlos Bates, vice
president of the student body. "This man has a law
suit against the school and he's having the yearbook
rieriiratrri to him/' Conpttr's case was scheduled to
open in federal court in Raleigh this week.
Farrakhan: Educate our Children
DETROIT (AP) ? The Rev. Louis Farrakhan
has warned that all Americans
will suffer if children are not
better educated. The Nation of
Islam leader spoke to more than
?.000 people in Detroit at the
Saving the African-American
Male conference.
"There was a time when
Wall Street was the financial
capital of the world; now it's
Tokyo," he said before 2,000 people in Detroit at
the Saving the African-American Male Conference.
"Something is happening. The country is heading
down. The only way the country can be stopped
from heading down is a better system of education."
Classifieds B12
Community News A3
Editorials A10
Entertainment B8
Obituaries Bll
Religion B9
Sports B1
niM at pictures of the Lash family with
tMueeum of American Art. 'The Spirit of
td insight into the black families who
REYNOLDA BOUSE: ( From I to r): Wayrni
James E. Lash at an exhibit last weekend att
Reynolda: African-American Contributions
helped build and run the Reynolda estates.
Proposal Draws Ire
of Citizens United
By KAREN M. HANNON
Chronicle Staff Writer
A member of the Citizens United for Justice says he
has concerns about the latest redisricting proposal
recently discussed by the Winston-Salem/Forsyth
County Board of Education.
The Rev. Carlton A.G. Eversley, a member of the
group's educational committee, said this week that
although the redisricting proposal may reduce cross
town busing for some elementary school students, the
plan does not adequately reduce the number of children
from inner-city communities that would be bused to
county schools to achieve racial balance.
"This proposal would still bus (black) children,"
Eversley said "There seems to be no reciprocal of bus
ing children from the outer areas of the city in."
He said Citizens United for Justice believes there
are more important issues than achieving racial balance
in the schools.
"We consider the hiring of more black educators to
be more important, along with increasing the expecta
tions of all students, infusing the curriculum to include
all cultures, and sensitivity training," he said.
The group, he said, is more concerned about segre
gation within any given school.
Please see page A3
Trustees Cool on Idea of Cultural Center
CHAPEL HILL (AP) ? Support for a freestand
ing Black Cultural Center hit a snag recently when the
issue went before the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of
trustees for the first time.
Trustee John Pope of Raleigh offered a resolution
that said the university should not be in the business of
sanctioning or establishing facilities that promote a sin
gle race, creed, color or culture.
"I do believe that the proposed separate free
standing Black Cultural Center presents a risk of reseg
regation of both people and ideas on the university
campus," Pope said.
Cressie Thigpen Jr. of Raleigh, one of two black
members, said he is confident the trustees will see the
importance of the Black Cultural Center when they get
more information about the project.
Students and administrators at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, have been squabbling for
weeks over the location of a proposed Black Cultural
Center. Pope's resolution, seconded by student body
President John Moody, was met with restrained
remarks.
Most of the trustees said they needed more time
and information before taking a position on the resolu
tion or the center itself, and no vote was taken. Further
discussion of the issue was delayed until the board's
next meeting. May 28.
Several trustees said they have serious questions
about the need for a Black Cultural Center on campus
anywhere.
"I am not convinced a center is needed, and I am
not convinced it's not," said Thomas Capps of Rich
mond, Va. "I must say, I don't like the tactics that have
been used. I haven't heard anything but emotion on this
thing ? I want to sec some facts."
John Harris of Charlotte agreed with some of
what Pope said.
"I can understand where John is coming from,
and I can understand where the students are coming
from," Harris said. "I haven't made up my mind on the
BCC at all."
In the meantime, Chancellor Paul Hardin has
asked the university's buildings and grounds committee
to conduct a public hearing and report back to him on
where the center should be built
Two finalist sites have been identified ? one
between Wilson Library and Dey Hall and the other
across the street in Coker Woods.
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