King's Legacy Lives on in E.
Winston Hearts and Minds
?? VAkK k V'JSS
The arrival of the birxhda> ceie
?-rai:<>n o? the man v>ho made great
to ;ead America out of the
o: racial injustice often chai
one to think about the impact
r r;a- r.aC on one s life
I* - safe to say that the legac> of
\y. Martin Luther King Jr.. *ho
v.Ciuid have been 6?i on Jan 15,
ejected the lav?s and the hearts and
rn.nds of all Americans. But just
fio\fc did the life of the civil rights
leader impact on sour life-''
attended the March or. Washington.
It ua> an experience that v. *11
la^t me a lifetime, he said.
Jone?. 19 at the time, said he
boarded a bu^ jrr Raleigh that sum
mer for the iong ride to Washington.
W'e could hear about other
cities v. ho uere haying problems.'
he said I wanted to be a part of
change.
Jones said flies and gnats and
stuffed toilets and the thick throng
spread out before the Washington
Monument made for some unbear
able conditions, bur v.hen King
Ronald Davis
?utc
rted The movement nobody would have."
? Clarence Games
C larence " Bighouse" Gaines
That was the question recently
put to several randomly selecte-d
African Americans Their comments ~~
often centered around the Jim Crow
past or the disturbing present.
Generally, however. the\ put King's
l.i te and work on. that pedestal
reserved for tew other African
Americans
Clarence Bighouse Gaines,
ihr rft i red Wmslori-S:ilf m Sl;Up ?
kc-thall coach, was recentls caught
shooting the breeze at the Golden
i.gy restaurant on New Walkertown
Road Gulping a soft drink and sur
rounded b> a half-do/en locals,.
Gaines recalled the time when it Was
? difficult to hu> insurance.
I remember the time a black
i l' ;n' h t* r ronldrv'i buv-an insurance
polic\ over S 1 ().()()()." he said. as.
others nodded in agreement.
Gaines reeled off a number of
black businesses whose main clien
tele were African Americans. They
were .businesses involved in insur
ance and banking. and the onlv ones
?\tncan:Amencans could turn to
Blacks were forced to use each
other, he said.
Games said he never met King,
inn he happened to be passing
Washington. D. C.. during the
weekend of the March on
Washington in 1^63. He was in
summer school in New York City
and was on his way to North
Carolina when he decided to stop
and attend the march.
I never saw so mans black
folks in trucks and buses," he said.
e\ oking laughter.
If" he (King) hadnt started the t
mn\rmfnt nohnrk would havp," hf
said. He talked, admiringly, of the
?bra\ rr> xU K ing -m -the - -
movement's leadership.
We made a lot of progress dur
ing his era." he said. But. "so few of
Al Jones
us have actually overcome."
The leadership vacuum created
by King's assassination has never
been filled, he said.
Al Jones, an assistant supervi 1
sor at the Carl H. Russell Recreation
Center on Carver School Road, also
spoke_nobod\ rnoxed an inch.
He said there ha\e been
changes and opportunities have
opened up. Jone1 said he remains,
however, extreme)) distrustful of
"the white man who is .only going
to let you go no high."
lijg-.said he w;is recently talking
to his teen-age son about King.
~uhoTe~ own rrrtereM- -has-been
aroused because of what he has
W iliie Jones
learned in school"
Willie - Jones, owner of
Piedmont Triad Automotive at the
intersection of Carver School and
New. WalkertoWn Road, could not
help but tie together King's legacy
and Jones recent troubles with van
dalism. J een-agers stole and dam
aged several of his cars two weeks
a g oTcau s r n g H HT Business ov e r
SI 0.000 in property damage.
King would turn over in his
grave if he saw what was going on
oat here today." he said.
He s.nri that if Kinp were alivr
today, he would be but preaching
about crime and AIDS and bth?rH
societal ills, and maybe things
would be better. He said that if King
had not been such an effective civil
rights leader, equality may have
been delayed by 20 years.""
He attributes his success as the
owner of an automobile dealership
to the legislation that King's leader
>hip helped enact.
Back in the 60s. it was
jnheard of for a black man to own a
car) lot.' he said."
Ronald Davis, a barber at
^ofessional Barber & Styling Salon
text - to the Golden Egg, said that
King s deaib came on his birthday -
April 4 - and it is that paradox that
? ha* serierl as an inspiration tor him ""
It inspired me to become the
man I am today. he*said.
Davis. 4 1 . said that he has been
in and out of prison - I was trou
ble." he admitv - and it was looking
to such leaders as King that Helped
to turn his life'arnnnri
"I stilTsee preiudice. he said.
He recounted the stor> of the city
police recentls coming to his job
and arresting him and taking him to
jail. He said he was a victim of
mistaken identity.
No matter how professional you
get, you re not excluded from being
discriminated against, he said.
To Louis Lower\. supervisor of
the Russell Center. King s powerful
voice and his message have not been
diluted by time.
"I still listen to him, he said. ?
about the occasional broadcasts of ^
King's sermons. Everx time, 1 hear,
his voice it automatically grabs my
attention.'
Lowerx said (hat King preached
? a-iot about principles and they are
ones that he tries to live b\. Among
the things Lowery' said has learned
from King is that justice is not
automatically given to you ? you
have to fight for it. 1 And. that you
have to treat people the way you
want io be treated, he said.
"King 'djd a Hot for black self
: est ecmr' - he s ai &. r
Louis Lowery
Lowery said he and his daugh
teTlfisniss King and what- the ha*
learned in black histon. at school.
. "1 want her to be aware of who
she is and proud of what he (King)
was all about.' he said.
WSTA Notice
The Winston-Salem Transit
Authority will be closed,
January 17th in
commemoration of Martin
Luther King, Jr. holiday.
Regular service will resume
on Tuesday January 18th.
For more information, call
727-2000.
Summit School Salutes
the Accomplishments of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
for All Americans.
2100 Reynolda Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27106
(919) 722-2777
vr
The Winston Lake Family YMCA"
Board of Managers and Staff salute
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
*
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live
in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of
their skin, but by the content of their character."
WINSTON LAKE FAMILY YMCA
901 WATERWORKS RD.
WINSTON-SALEM, NC
(910)724-9205
?
"Helping people reach their God-given
potential in spirit, mind and body"