Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Feb. 11, 1999, edition 1 / Page 8
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Reading together Thousand join in to share black literature By T. KEVIN WALKER ,J- > Ttffi CHRONICLE , Last year, she sat, watched, lis tened, and she learned. This year, she was one of the teachers - others watched and lis tened to her. She sat in a chair before a group of about 15 smiling ladies, clutching a thin brochure in her hands. Before she opened the brochure and read from it, she introduced herself to the women. She's Laura Spangler. She's a white, Presbyterian minister of Lloyd Presbyterian, a century-old African American church. And she has 9 fondness for African American literature. Earlier this week, Spangler joined more than a million people across the nation and around the world in the 10th annual African American Read-In Chain, an event crafted by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English to promote the richness and diversity of black literature. The goal of the Read-In is to form a human chain of people lis tening to, or reading literature by black authors at the same time. In order to accomplish that goal and to get as many people as possible involved, churches, schools, non profit groups and civic organizations worldwide held reading sessions on Feb. 7 and Feb. 8, where people of all races gathered to share some of their favorite titles * At some location^ people gath ered to hear guest readers. At others sessions, everyone in attendance stood before the crowd to share their favorite book passages, poems or essays. Spangler s group, which gathered Monday morning on an opulent glassed-in patio at the Reynolda House Museum of American Art, fell into the latter category. Spangler read from a sermon by Katie Geneva Cannon, the first African American woman to be ordained by the Presbyterian Church. Although she came to Reynolda House's Read-In last year - which was the first year the museum held the event - it was the first time she became an active participant. "I feel empowered by the libera tion emphasis in African American literature," she said. "I want to know the cultural history of my neigh bors." First conceived as merely a way to promote black writers, the Read In Chain has evolved into a sympo sium for interracial dialogue that is appropriately held in February - National Black History Month. Just as diverse as the people who attend the thousands of Read-In ses sions each year, are the selections that readers choose While the old standards like Baldwin, Hughes and Angelou remain the most popular Read-In classics, Bertha Roundtree - the woman who brought the Read-In Chain to the attention of Reynolda House officials last year - read a witty selection dealing with black women and hair from Stan Jones' book "You Have to Stand for Something or You'll Fall for Any thing." "I didn't know who Starr Jones was. until about a month ago," Roundtree said of the lawyer turned- talk show host. "This pas sage shows how a lot of African American women buy into Eurocen trie culture." Selections shared by the other readers ran the literary gauntlet, from bitter-sweet slave narratives to obscure novels to short but powerful poems. Kathleen Hutton is a Reynolda House employee who helped to organize the session. Hutton - who shared the Langston Hughes classic "I , too" with the group - said the Read-In complements the museum's focus on American art and culture. "It fits right into the mission that we have here at Reynolda House of celebrating the arts," Hutton said. Next year, Hutton said, the museum hopes to lure novice writers to the event to share some of their work. This years Read-In Chain rat tled through locations across the city. The day before the Reynolda House event, nearly 30 people assembled on the campus of Winston-Salem State University for its Read-In. The session was held in a huge auditorium-like classroom in the Hall-Patterson Building on the uni versity's campus. Nearly all of those in attendance made their way to the microphone-rigged podium in the front of the room to share their read ings. Many of those at the Read-In were WSSU students or faculty, oth ers were simply book lovers who wel comed an opportunity to be engulfed in great literature for nearly two hours. Each reader seemed to have cho sen selections that had struck a spir itual cord within them, some even shared their connection with the writing during brief introductions. One student read a passage from diva Patti La Belle's biography. She said the book's title - "Don't Block the Blessings" - had a special mean ing for her. The only male reader at the ses sion read lines from "Invisible Man," Ralph Ellison's compelling study of a black male in America. One of the highlights of the ses sion came when two women stood before the group and performed a rousing version of the well-known, catchy poem, "Booker T and W.E.B." Before they recited the poem, one of the women, Ruby Rodney, explained to the group why such a wide gulf existed between two of the greatest leaders of the 20th century - Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois. "Du Bois believed that education for blacks should not be just based on race," Rodney said. "Booker T. believed in education of the hands: that blacks should learn manual skills." The university's event was orga nized by English Professor Elwanda Ingram, who has been on the Read In bandwagon from the very begin ning. Ingram says that almost 30 years ago, black female writers caused a surge in the popularity of black literature - a surge that contin ues until this day. * "I think it started in the 1970s when black women writers sprung forward and really created a lot of social awareness. African American people began to feel like we con tributed to the world and we could write as well as anyone else," Ingram said. . * Forsyth County Library Deputy Director Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin - who read a selection from Pearl Cleage's bestseller, "What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary After noon," at WSSU - said that the library system has recognized that there is a craving for books by black authors. She says the system is con stantly working to satisfy that crav ing. "We want to be global in our outlook," she said. "We have a lot of rich African American literature and we want to showcase that." The system's main library now has a large section devoted to black writers. The section is near the entrance of the building near similar sections for new releases. The remodeled East Winston library and the Carver Road branch have under scored the system's commitment to embracing black literature, Sprinkle Hamlin said. Miriam McCarter says the cur rent popularity of black literature has led people of all colors to the doors of Special Occasions, ad African American bookstore and novelty shop that she owns with het husband. '' McCarter says that when major publishing companies rejected would-be black writers they began tb publish successful books themselves! Hoping reap some of that success; major publishers have now openea their doors wider than ever to black writers. f "The success of black writers Ms made other blacks want to write,'" McCarter said." If the publishing industry stays open I think it's going See Reading on A10 rnoto ay i. nevin Craig Dawson and Tata Darker pose with student* at Whitaker Elementary Sehaal. - . ? : ? - '? ^ //' V- ? : ? , ? ----- - iff ^^ver since Freedom's Journal published its first editorial in 1827, African American publishers have maintained a proud tradition of * ' ? ? journalistic excellence, diverse opinion and service to community. In celebration of Black History Month, Philip Morris Companies Inc. is proud to present its 1999 radio documentary series! ^leabmg gar 0m Causie J The Black Press in America t i ^ arninn scheduled to air on more than 400 radio stations across the country. * Check local listings for broadcasts in your area. i Sharing the commitment. Building the solution. ^\S PHILIP MORRIS COMPANIES INC. ^ KRAFT FOODS, INC. MILLER IREWING COMPANY PHILIP MORRIS CAPITAL C 0 RPO R , PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL INC. PHILIP MORRIS U.S.A. ' (X ^^BARGAIN^^ ^ MATINEES ? $4.50 J nm MANES MALI BLVO WWWtfllWIW| 1 IN THESE AUDITORIUMS 1 ! muani mmtjim ! j ?HKMWIEIti?db MUM , I ?Tt IUI5KUU IC-l* i:UllitlfUtL< | I MUOUBiKD iBMS'BMI I I ll(!WI1iMI? JtBtB'RMS I ( j HSM2M0TTUH-11 ? 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Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Feb. 11, 1999, edition 1
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