Page A6 Winston-Salem Chronicle Thursday, September 9, 1993
After Chiding Wal-Mart for Lack of Black Images, He Gets Results
By DAVID L. DILLARD
Chronicle Staff Writer
Wilbert L. Richardson is an
ordinary, hard-working citizen.
He worked for R.J. Reynolds
Tobacco Co. for 32 years before
retiring last year, but he continues to
do mechanic work and ground
maintenance. But his most enjoy
able task is creating pride in young
African Americans.
Case in point: This past April,
Richardson was shopping at Wal-
Mart on University Parkway and
noticed a wall in the children's
department covered with images of
kids from various ethnic groups. But
a noticeable exception, according to
Richardson, was that of an African-
American child. So Richardson
decided to confront Wal-Mart's
local and national management.
"All the blacks are spending
their hard-earned dollars with no
representation," said Richardson,
who is black. "They (other races)
can't compare to what we spend
there."
Richardson said he wrote a let
ter to the store's home office in
Arkansas, because he felt the
absence of an African-American
child was a disrespect to the large
number of African-American shop
pers of Wal-Mart.
His letter stated, in part: "I will
not go into your store any more until
this problem is corrected, and in the
meantime ... let the general public
be aware of this international prac
tice."
Three Men Charged with
Killing Stoner Sentenced
By DAVID L. DILLARD
Chronicle Staff Writer
Prosecutor Vince Rabil said he
was "very happy" that all four men
charged with the mutilation and
stabbing death of Carlos. Colon
Stoner 15 months ago have finally
been sent to prison.
Police found Stoner's body on a
greenway off South Broad Street on
May 27, 1992. He hacf been cas
trated, had a gaping hole in his chest
and his penis stuffed in his mouth.
But he's still upset that one of
the men — Rickey Eugene Knight
— did not receive a death sentence.
Rabil is pleased with the sen
tencing of James Andrew Gilbert,
Mark Anthony Smith and Dwayne
Gregory Doby, but said he's not sat
isfied with Knight's sentence.
"I'll never get over that. I feel
let down and hurt due to one juror
holding out," he said. "I didn't know
Stoner, but he was a human being.
(The death penalty) was the only
justice in this case."
On Aug. 30, a jury found James
Andrew Gilbert, 24, Mark Anthony
Smith, 22, and Dwayne Gregory
Doby, 23, guilty of second-degree
murder.
Knight was sentenced to life in
prison in May, one vote shy of
becoming the sixth person executed
in this state since the death penalty
was reinstated in 1977.
Intern Joins Old Salem
Tonya Thacker has joined Old
Salem Inc. in a one-year internship
position as special assistant,
African-American programs.
Thacker, who comes to Old
Salem with a degree in sociology
from Hampton University in Vir
ginia, will be working in the Depart
ment of Interpretation and Visitor
Services.
As a special assistant, Thacker
will be responsible for researching
the African-American neighbor
hoods served by St. Philip’s Church
in the late 19th and 20th centuries,
for completing an oral history pro
ject based on her findings, and for
planning enrichment meetings for
the interpretive staff.
In addition, Thacker will
develop and coordinate projects
Tonya Thacker
will be surprised with what the gen
eral public can do."
Robert Todd, co-manager of the
Winston-Salem store, said it was
Richardson's letter that prompted
the corporate office to add a black
Wilbert Richardson
Three weeks ago, Wal-Mart's
corporate headquarters responded to
Richardson's letter, saying they have
"contacted our vendor for another
photograph to correct this over
sight."
Richardson said he has resumed
shopping at Wal-Mart and was
pleased to see the problem cor
rected.
"I wanted to congratulate the
store for investigating the matter
and doing something about it," he
said. "Little things like this are a
good start."
Richardson said that it made
good business sense for the store to
respond to his request.
"It's a big flow out of their rev
enue they may lose," he said. "You
Superior Court Judge William
Z. Wood Jr. sentenced Gilbert to
life in prison plus 10 years, Smith to
25 years and Doby to 10 years.
Rabil said all three men have
been in jail since the stabbing and
Doby could be released in a few
weeks, while Smith could be eligi
ble for parole in another year.
Gilbert, who allegedly stabbed
Stoner, pleaded guilty to second-
degree murder and conspiracy to
commit murder but maintained his
innocence. Rabil said there wasn't
enough evidence to seek the death
penalty for Gilbert.
"It was very close, but we never
had any aggravating factors," he
said. "We couldn't prove actual con
spiracy to commit murder, but we
could prove he conspired to trick
Stoner to get him in the car."
child's picture.
"We appreciate it when a cus
tomer lets us know about something
they have a problem with — good
or bad — so we can correct the
issue," Todd said. "It apparently
offended him, and we think that our
home-office people showed a seri
ous commitment to its associates by
responding in a timely manner."
Richardson and his wife, Sher-
ron, volunteer their services to chil-
Gilbert's sentence seems longer
than Knight's, but Rabil said he
could serve from seven to 10 years
on his sentence, but the state could
fight it to hold him longer.
dren under court supervision
feel the Wal-Mart issue needs toll
known to set an example for blai|
youths.
"People need to be aware o!
this issue," he said. "We need to
our kids on the right track."
Come To
The Oasis
Shrine Circus
• Sunday, Sept 26,1993
Color the Shrine Clown and
mail it in to win tickets to the
circus! We will he sending 20
lucky families to Lawrence
Joel Veterans Memorial
Coliseum to see the Oasis
Shrine Circus.
Name
Address
City
State/Zip
Phone
# of Tickets (limit 4 per family)_
Bring or mail by:
September 20th
Winston-Salem Chronicle
Winston-Salem Chronicle,
617 N. Liberty Street,
Winston-Salem, NC 27101
Opening
your bank statement
with the Best Choice Center and the
Sims Community Center in Happy
Hill Gardens and will be in costume
two days per week working as an
interpreter.
shouldn’t feel
like opening a bill.
Economy Checking
$4 Per Month
No minimum balance required.
Wachovia Banking Card and
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What’s more, there's no minimum balance recjuircmcnt. For more details, stop by and talk
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