Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Jan. 23, 1997, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
James Fair worked at Community Shoe Shop for many years, following his father's footsteps. A Gathering of Good Men A J antes Willie Fair: Master of Shoe Shine By FELECIA P. MCMILLAN Special to the Chronicle For many years, the city of Winston-Salem has had the privilege of being home for a number of fine craftsmen. Here the Winston-Salem Chronicle pauses to recognize a few who have offered their services for more than 30 years. The late James Willie Fair started shining shoes at the age of 7 in downtown Winston Salem during the 1930s. He followed the foot steps of his father, Bennie Fair, who was a shoe shiner in Buffalo, N.Y. His mother, Mrs. Willie Fair, encouraged his craft when he was a child. She allowed him to go downtown on Liberty Street and Main Street to the Hollow Wood State Theater along with other young African-Ameri can boys to shine shoes for 5 and 10 cents. His uncle, Charlie Fair, remembers the area well. He said that many white people frequented this area near the Woolworth block before the large parking lot was built there. James Fair took his shine box out on tfte sidewalk and would shine shoes on his knees. He would also go to Kxess's Department Store and on Trade Street. Other shine boys Charlie Fair remembers were Milton Scales, Charlie Scales and Baby Scales, who are also now deceased. Most of the black businesses were on Church Street. Charlie Fair recalls the Lincoln Theater, the Lafayette Theater and the Ritz Theater that blacks attended. The Red Campbell Pool Room, Please see page II Winston-Salem Chroiz n c room ' f 660S?thNs? #Uq lib Choice for African-American News and Information ,s l,brary winstok-salem nc 27101-2755 THURSDAY, January23,1997 ^ % , \ 1500 join in MLK celebration A Speakers urge better black America By FELEC1A P MCMILLAN Special to the Chronicle \ Mre than 1500 people joined in the 17th mnual Noon Hour Commemoration f Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 20. Jeven years agb, Jan. 20, 1986, the ation began to observe a national holi ay in honof of a civil rights leader /ho helped promote social change in te United States. The Winston-Salem CP and the Winston-Salem Human Relations Commission co-sponsored the event. The theme for King's 68th birthday celebration was, "What is your reso lution for the New Year?" In keeping with the theme, four local leaders uiged the community to join together to make resolves for the future. The leaders were William H. Tatum, president of the Win ston-Salem Branch of the NAACP; Geneva Brown from the WS/FC School Board; Robert Brown, President of B&C Associates in High Point; and Eugene Williams from Win ston Salem Human Relations. Tatum discussed a resolve for "Less Crime, More Peace." He reminded the audience that one of the major issues facing youth in 1997 is that 13- and 14-year-olds will now be tried as adults. He said that the criminal justice sys tem is not just a revolving door. He said many young people do not realize that a great deal of their .time can be wasted as they serve a sentence for committing a crime. Geneva Brown called for a resolve for "Better Educa tion." "We don't nepd Ebonics, we need phonics# she said. She encouraged parents and young people to develop sound communication skills that will enable them to compete in the marketplace. She also called for a closer look at the educa tional system, in which many minority students lag behind. Please see page II The speakers on the dais came together around the candle lit in memory of Mazie Woodruff. Left to right, in front are the Rev. Samuel Cornelius, Geneva Brown, Mutter Evans, Renee Vaughn; Back, William Tatum, the Rev. Donald Jenkins, Eugene Williams, and Robert Brown. Items From an Eevpial Oddess\ Egyptian Nubians host Nubian Americans By BILL TURNER Special to the Chronicle Someone once wrote that with all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Much of the modern world's dreams come-true and beauty had its origin in Egypt. Recently, we had a most unusual share of it, that which is so special as to reaffirm the beauty and happiness that comes in this world and its peoples. Imagine the feeling of standing in the warm January sun-drenched courtyard of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. All that one has read and seen about the best of Egypt ? the cradle bf civilization ? about to unfold, even a personal viewing of the priceless treasures from the tomb of King Tutankhamen ? a young black man. Imagine further how you feel when the stillness of your anticipa i ? .t i i ??in nun i? iinciiupicu oy me aimosi snriu sounds of a mahogany-hued young man, the maitre'd of the Museum's restaurant. "Nubian American!" he exclaimed. Pleasantly perplexed, but not puzzled; we had been called Nubian Americans all week, from one end of Egypt to the other, but especially while in the South ? in Nubia, near the Aswan High Dam ? near Sudan, Arabic for "land of the blacks." Before we knew it, Khaled (pro nounced CAL-LED) Osman ^? i?????a Mohammed, 2^? had captivated us. While en route to a rabbit warren-like array of shops ("Here, with me, my Nubian brother and sister, you will not pay the high tourist prices."), we talked of his ancestral "home" ? Aswan ? known as Nubia. Nubia, he informed us, was once a powerful empire, now called Sudan. Khaled's people inhabited the ancient land of Mrs. Fahima, Khaled's grandmother, greeted the Turners with a traditional welcome. Cush. Cush and the Nubian land now lies beneath Lake Nassar, a watery grave resulting from the building of the High Dam at Aswan. The Sun Temple of Abu Simel, flanked by the four well-known pr it-card views of stone statues of Ramses II, had to moved in order to tame the Nile. He spoke of it rather painfully. This devout Moslem knew enough about Christianity to link his people to us. "You do know of us in your Bible, don't you? Read our his Khaled Osman Mohammed, maitre'd of the Egyptian Museum's restaurant, befriended the Turners on their recent trip. tory as recorded in the Holy Scrip tures: 2 Kings 20:12, Isaiah 18:1, 2 Chronicles 14:9," he said. OK. "And tomorrow, you must come and meet my family and to eat with us." Just like that. Imagine being met by the mater nal elder of Khaled's family, Mrs. Fahima. Khaled said, "We think she may be near 90, but the midwives did not write down birth dates ? it was enough to get born!" As we were scheduled to be fed by Khaled's mother, Karima, ..Mrs. Fahima insisted we "have a mouth of sugar" from her cupboard, as "a way to know the sweetness of being in her presence." Up six flights, past the apart ments of Khaled's extended clan, we entered to meet sisters Menal, Doaa, Marwa, and Aida, and the father, Khaled Osman Mohammed. Aunt Moma was there, as was cousin Mah moud and at least 30 others, all scur Please see page II ? r Black Caucus knows how to use t ? small numbers for big influence RALEIGH (AP) ? Whpn House Democrats met to pick a candidate for speaker, the 17 black members called a recess to decide which candidate to sup port. 1 When they returned, their unanimous vote for Rep. Jim Black, D-Mecklenbuig, gave him the margin he needed for the nomination. They also gave fellow Democrats a pointed message: Don't count us out. "Do you think they got it? We couldn't have made it much plainer," said Rep. Howard Hunter, D-Northampton, the chairman of the Joint Legislative Black Caucus. Black members have never been a large fraction of the House or the Senate, but they have lots of experience at using their small numbers to influence legisla tion. The influence grew when one of their own, Rep. Dan Blue, D-Wake. was elected speaker in 1990 and 1992. But when Republicans took over the House in 1994, they found themselves fighting harder to keep funds for programs aimed at minorities and the poor. And when key decisions were made, they had no place at the table to argue their posi tion. The problem, black members say, was more than just Republican. Minorities had problems rallying some of their fellow Democrats to their causes. Please see page I I Police hope Ennis Cosby's killer will | make a trail and seal his own doom By DENNIS SCHATZMAN NNPA Correspondent Los Angeles Police detectives may be closer to knowing who the prime suspect is in the brutal Jan. 17, 1997, slaying of Ennis Cosby, son of come dian Bill Cosby, according to sources high up in the police hierarchy. After checking over 200 leads gar nered through telephone calls to LAPD headquarters located in Parker Center, they are hoping the gunman, a white male in his mid-to-late 20s, will tell other people of his deed. If that occurs, prosecutors will then have more than enough sources to seal the criminal fate of the killer. Cosby was gunned down on a lonely stretch of road off 1-405, 1$ miles north of Los Angeles at or about; 2 a.m. The 27-year-old New York City school teacher, Morehouse graduate and doctoral candidate, was left alone to face a lone gunman after Stephanie Crane, a 47-year-old friend of Cosby's, noticed the man approaching Cosby with gun drawn and sped off only to; later return to see her "friend" lying in j a pool of blood. An LAPD spokesman would not speculate as to why Crane, the daugh- - j ter of the creator of the 1950s sitcom, "The Honeymooners," left Cosby to; k fend for himself when she had a cellu-; I Please see page II ' !|
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 23, 1997, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75