Three honored for courageous,
grassroots work against the odds
The Rev. Harrison T. Simons
Mother Mary Benignut Hoban
Chenay Costen
A courageous minister who led
a small Southern town through
turbulent times to better race rela
tions, a Catholic nun who has been
compared to Mother Teresa since
she started a nursery for severely
disabled children 42 years ago, and
a persevering black woman who
has devoted her life to improving
the lives of low-resource people in
northeastern North Carolina have
received the 1997 Nancy Susan
Reynolds Awards.
? The Nancy Susan Reynolds
^Awards, sometimes called "North
^Carolina's Nobel prizes," are
?awarded annually to three unsung
?heroes by the Z. Smith Reynolds
?Eoundation. Each award carries a
Iprize of $25,000. The awards were
presented Saturday in New Bern at
ceremonies attended by 400 people
?from across North Carolina.
Z Receiving the awards were the
yev. Harrison T. Simons, rector of
!1wo Episcopal churches in Oxford;
?Mother Mary Benignus Hoban,
Sounder and president of Holy
J\ngels, a nursery for severely dis
abled children in Belmont; and
wChenay Costen, of Sunbury. the
Sounder of several social service
Jtnd educational programs in
?northeastern North Carolina.
! Costen returned to her home
Jplace in Gates County after college
Jtwo decades ago to help her father
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try to save the family farm.
Against great odds, she saved the
farm. But during the last 20 years,
Costen in many ways has saved a
generation or two of her fellow cit
izens in one of the poorest and
most isolated parts of North
Carolina.
For her tireless work, she
received the award for advocacy on
behalf of poor, rural people in five
counties: Camden. Chowan,
Gates, Pasquotank, and
Perquimans.
Costen, 42, had to battle deep
seated poverty where there was vir
tually no economic opportunity,
illiteracy where dropping out of
school was a way of life, and apa
thy where the status quo had essen
tially kept people, and black
people, as second-class citizens.
She advocated relentlessly for the
rights of those people and for the
opportunity for them to improve
their lives.
She founded United Family
Support Services, which operates
through Learning Resource
Centers in several counties and
provides a wide range of services:
adult basic education and GED
classes, day care for children, meal
services, home ownership pro
grams for first-time home buyers,
preschool programs, crime preven
tion, transportation, job creation,
????????I
job training (especially for day care
workers), and a social justice
awareness program to train people
in how the justice system works.
She recently founded a community
development corporation.
Born in Ireland. Mother Mary
Benignus Hoban came to America
71 years ago and has spent most of
that time in North Carolina, where
she has been a teacher and admin
istrator of a college and hospital.
Now 91, Mother Benignus
received the award for personal
service as a result of her work with
Holy Angels, a nursery in BeWnbnt
that has been home to profoundly
disabled children who had no
other place to go. The nun founded
Holy Angels in 1955, after a
severely handicapped and medical
ly fragile infant was taken by her
desperate mother, a young unedu
cated mill worker overwhelmed by
her daughter's condition, to a day
care center operated by the Sisters
of Mercy, a Catholic order.
No one expected the infant to
live very long, but Mother
Benignus and the other nuns
bathed her in love and affection.
They obtained what medical care
was available at the time. In fact,
the infant, named Maria Merrow,
survived, and in the constant care
of Mother Benignus, thrived.
Today, at 42. Merrow leads a
happy, productive life and is
employed at Holy Angels.
Holy Angels began because of
Maria, but it has become what it isr?
today because Mother BenignusX
cared for it, just as she cared for the
children. Over the past 42 years,
thousands of children, mostly
from North Carolina but also from
other states and some foreign
countries, have been able to live,
learn, and love at Holy Angels.
The Rev. Harrison T. Simons,
63, was called to be rector of St.
Stephens, an all-white F.piscopal
church in Oxford, in 1970 during a
period of tense racial strife. Jn his
patient manner, he helped defuse
tense racial confrontations in
Oxford, including one in which the
National Guard occupied the town
after a white store owner was
acquitted of killing a black man.
At times, he received death threats.
A year after he arrived, he was
asked to serve the black Episcopal
church. St. Cyprian's, as well
Father Simons brought his two
congregations together in a spjnt
of worship and social ministry,
?drawing on the strengths of b<411
It was an example that spilled out
\into all of Granville County, a pre
dominantly rural county 011 the
Virginia border north of Durham
In many ways, he has become, the
"conscience of the community."
Me and his churches have led 111
virtually every step toward better
race relations. He was instrumental
in establishing affordable housing
for the poor, l ie led the formation
of the Human Relations Board
and was the driving force behind
the Area Congregations in
Ministry, a food and clothing clos
et. He took the lead in a series of
diversity workshops and has
brought various groups together to
discyss better economic opportu
nities for black citizens.
Stephen L. Neal. a former con
gressman who is president of the
Z Smith Reynolds Foundation,
said at the awards ceremony. "We
do not have-to search lor saints or
heroes in distant lands, in the
slums of Calcutta, mine fields'of
Bosnia and Africa, or hospitals for
incurables in Rnglund l.ook and
we will find them in North
C arolina
"The Nancy Susan Reynolds
Awards recipients this year are
extraordinary examples of how
individuals . a Catholic nun. an
Rpiscopal priest, and a dynamic
young African-American woman
saw needs crying to be met. and
said simply. "If not me, then who?"
"Saints'? It never would occur
to them to consider themselves
anything but ordinary human
beings who have seen needs and
determined to meet them
regardless of the odds. They have
proved that even with limited
resources, one can change lives and
move people by the powerful force
of love," Neal said.
-Positive Images seeks new models
ft* ? .
A fashion event took place Sunday. Nov. 23, at the Anderson Center |
tut the campus of Winston-Salefn State University. Models of all shapes
and sizes Haunted their wearables as
Positive Images and More presented
"Magic in the Middle," a fall and winter
preview of fashions to look for during the
cooler seasons.
Fashion consultant Florine Miller is
the artist behind these special events,
which take place seasonally in the
Winston-Salem area. Models are those
who participate in her Positive Images
program, designed to help young people
develop a greater sense of confidence and
self-esteem.
"Low self-esteem has no boundaries."
says Miller. "It affects people of all races,
all ages and all shapes and sizes. To me it
is one of the most serious diseases known
to man, for it can mentally, physically and
spiritually destroy a human being. I see the
effect it has on young people. My goal is to
heal as many young people as possible from
-this dreadtul disease."
S- The next fashion event will be held at Carver High School auditorium
Winston-Salem Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 atHhe door for adults |
?{lind $5 for students. Those interested in modeling should attend the event.
- Fashions by local designers Belinda Allah and "Fannie Lee" will be
?featured. A designer fashion will be given away to a lucky ticket holder.
For more information, call 650-1560.
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Florin? Millor
NAACP releases results
;of second hotel survey
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TONV JONliS
3tpcu.il U> the NNI'A
from I lie Iri-Sliite Defender
NAACP president and chief
executive officer Kweisi Mfume
has announced the second phase
of the civil lights organization's
plan to study how the hospitality
industry treats African Americans.
African-American organizations
are being urged to contact the
NAACP to receive a survey form
to gauge the industry's coopera
tion Additionally, a hotline has
been set up to disseminate infor
mation to interested parties.
This is being made available to
assist consumers and groups in
niaking informed choices about
where to spend their lodging
industry dollars. Conventioneers,
(neeting planners, fraternity and
sorority travel planners are urged
io call and to respond to the sur
vey. To date, more than 42 nation
al organizations are co-sponsors
of the effort.
' The first NAACP Economic
Reciprocity Motel Initiative
Report Card, released in late
spring, was the result of a year
long survey that reviewed the eco
nomic relationship between major
hotel chains and the African
American community with the
intention of establishing business
links for firms owned by African
Americans.
The Economic Reciprocity
Initiative was launched by the
fclAACP in February of this year.
The hotel and lodging industry
jyas the first target of the initia
tive. and the top 15 chains were
graded and ranked on their
decords in five key areas: employ
ment. equity and franchise owner
ship. vendor
relationships/procurement, adver
tising and marketing and philan
thropy.
The results of the second sur
vey were recently revealed in a
press conference in New York
City. To date, only the Best
Western chain has refused to
cooperate. The historic Holiday
Inn in Memphis, Tenn.. has
received a "C" in the survey, an
upgrade from its position of fail
ure because it did not respond the
first time the survey was taken.
Memphis-based Proinus Hotels
(Embassy Suites. Hampton Inn
and Homewood Suites) received a
grade of "D."
Black consumers spend $4 bil
lion annually in the travel and
lodging industry. Currently, the
hotel industry is considered one of
the top 10 industries for new job
"creation, growing twice as fast as
other industries. Mfume feels that
business opportunities are enor
mous as franchising, construction
and vendor programs largely
ignore black businesses.
"Survey results indicate that
the hotel industry has given very
little return on the African
American consumer's investment
dollar," the organization's report
card states. "Don't support hotels
that don't support you."
"Protecting our economic
future is extremely important in
an environment where there is an
aggressive assault on affirmative
action and economic opportuni
ty NAACP president and CEO
Kwetsi Mfuine said after the
release of the first report.
"Economic empowerment is the
necessary extension of the civil
rights movement. I have said all
along that as consumers who add
significantly to the bottom line of
corporate America, we should
leverage our clout to reward our
friends and punish our enemies,"
Mfume continued.
Eor a copy of the NAACP
Economic Reciprocity Hotel
Initiative Report Card and the i
survey, please call the NAACP ;
national office at (410) 358-8900.
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