Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / May 13, 1999, edition 1 / Page 2
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Ifefti ^ T Walter ^ ?-t* ? ? Anderson uses ? i . . ? . swan song to talk race and art B> T KE'V FN * \LKER . -THE -<Kn.fc , __ : !?: ? ? ? The,soon-to-be former director of Winston-Salem State University's Diggs Gallery encouraged her colleagues in the arts community to expand their interests beyond the museums, theaters and concert halls and take an active role ip community development and race relations. "When I attend (race relations events), sometimes I'm the only .arts person there." Brooke Anderson said. "I don't think my colleagues in the arts field are expanding qutside of the walls of the arts." ? Anderson's remarks came during a discussion she led at the Reynolda House Museum of American Art on the arts and race gelations. Last Thursday. 70 people, many of whom work within the arts community, packed into the museum's glassed-in patio to listen and chime-in sugges tions. ' With the proper leadership, the arts community can bridge the racial ' divide and aid the city with its development efforts downtown, Anderson said. Where religious and political efforts to end racism fail, the arts can" open people up to various cultures in a very subtle way. she said. Andersen has grand plans for Winston-Salem, even though come the end of this week, she will no longer call the city,home. She has accepted the director's position at the new Contemporary Center in New York City. The center is a division of the Museum of American Folk Art. ? Besides providing new challenges, Anderson says the move northward will put her closer to family and friends in her native Connecticut. But when she returns here to visit. Anderson says she would like to see the.arts foiittnuvtity take action on at least two very important fhojects. She w*ants to see the old Davis Garage building near Winstion-Salem State University transformed into an African American arts center. The building's history - it used to be a train station - makes it an ideal place for such a "center. Anderson said. / . She also shared her dream of moving the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art from its palatial location off Reynolda Road to a location downtown. Such a move would spur development downtown and give the arts center a more central location so that all the people of Winston-Salem can enjoy what it has to offer. Although many would dismiss the two goals as pipe dreams, Ander son said they are both doable. But it will take unity among those in the arts community and a large arts organization taking a strong leadership role in the city, both of which she said do not exist as of yet. "(The arts community) can't get to the other stuff until we are work ing together as a team ourselves," Anderson said. But individually or collectively, people in the arts can do things to fos ter healthy race relations in the city. Anderson chided her colleagues for not ?attending black arts events like the N.C. Black Theatre Festival. Anderson says she has continually attended tfie event since she moved . he^e eight years ago. * "I 'really do recognize that there are not a lot of people who look like me there ...And it's really sad; it's a wonderful event," Anderson said. She also urged African Americans to attend traditionally white events at venues like the N.C. School of the Arts. At Anderson's suggestion, other people offered ideas on hoik the arts can improve the racial climate. Jim Sanders; director of the Sawtooth Center, urged his colleagues to look into the histories ofjtheir.arts orga-, >? nizations and start by refuting past racist polices. After that is done. Sanders said, organizations can then "look outward." Many suggested that race and class go hand in hand. Perceived by some as a sport for the leisureclass,"the arts have not always had an open .door-pdlicy. . - . The fact that most galleries and museums are located in swank, most ly white suburbs, has not expanded the appeal of the arts, some said "I think the question is not only race but class." said Conchita Ndege. the director of the Mattie Reed African Museum at N.C. A&T State Uni versity. "They look at SECCA. they look at Reynolda House and they think these are elite institutions." But if poor and minority people do venture into such institutions, they usually have enjoyable experiences. Ndege said. Cathy Chapman, an African American woman from Winston-Salem who now lives in Burlington, says that it's important for African Ameri cans to spread the word when they attend events at arts organizations. ' 0 "Spreading the word is very important." she said. "I think (blacks) need to go out and say,. 'This was wonderful; you need to go.'" Chapman heads an arts organization in Burlington. Her husband. Ron Torain. commended Anderson for just having a discussion about the arts and race. It's a topic that probably wouldn't even be discussed in Burlington, he said. Torain is organizing the Burlington/Alamandt International Cultural Festival He said that he has seen first-hand how various forms of cul tural artistic expression have helped heal racial wounds. After the discussion, he told stories of African American children changing their attitudes toward Hispanics after seeing a Mariachi band perform and white children changing their negative impressions of blacks after hearing gospel music. "You can't w'alk away from (the arts) without feeling like a different person." he said Although the arts is not where many people look for racial healings. Torain said new methods are needed to combat the age-old problem of racism and discrimination. ? "We can't use the same tools we used in the '60s." he said. "If you start talking pbout sit-ins and marching now. people will laugh at you." At one point during the the discussion, attendee Martin Rader asked Anderson about the Arts Council's role as a leadership body for the city's arts community. The mere question caused several members of the audi ence to snicker. Anderson said the Arts Council does have the kind of pull that could unite, the arts community, but the group has not taken the initiative of doing that as of yet. "I don't think they are doing what I'm aching for us to have." she said. When Rader. who sits on the Arts Council board, asked Anderson n 9 , * See Anderson on A10 I 4 Law enforcement officers honor their own B> T KEVIN WALKER THE CHRONICLE . A swarm of law enforcement officers from around the state imaded Hanes Mall Monday for a noontime ceremony to kick off National Law Enforcement Memorial Week, which began Sunda) and will conclude on Sat urday. The week is a time for the offi cers to reflect on their fallen comrades. It's a time for the pub lic as wet! "to show its apprecia tion to the men and women who wear the uniform and badge with honor and integrity. And for many law enforce ment agencies, the week has become a powerful marketing tool. Departments here have set up booths throughout the lower level of the mall to inform tjie public of its responsibilities and to provide employment informa tion to those interested in joining the ranks. Nearly 100 officers gathered ip the mall's center court as Police Chief Linda Davis and represen tatives from the Forsyth County Sheriff's Department launched a week-long series of exhibits and activities. They stood, as if at attention, throughout the 20 minute ceremony while a few citi zens and family members of slain officers occupied rows of chairs that had been set up. "A choir, made up of members of the city's police department, sang the national anthem in ,multi-part harmony. They stood beside a "police and sheriff's department color guard, who hoisted flags of the United States. North Carolina and Winston Salem. "We can enjoy our weekends and holidays because we know (law enforcement officers ) are on the streets keeping us safe." Davis said. Several agencies will take part in the activities at the mall this week. They include: the State Bureau of Investigation, the N.C. Highway Patrol, the Wake Forest University Police Department and Forsyth County Animal Control. Davis used the. occasion to spotlight two of her officers who she says have exemplified what police work is all about. She mentioned recent Medal of Merit winner Officer Angie Swaim. who successfully negoti ated with a deranged man who had threatened to drop an 11 day-old baby from a car window. Swaim was on vacation and unable to attend the ceremony. Davis named Officer H.F. Farley as the recipient of the annual Rufus W. Dalton Award. The award - sponsored by the Winston-Salem Foundation - goes to law enforcement officers who have stood in harm's way and sustained injuries as a result of it. Farley, who was struck across the head with a metal object after pursuing a suspect on foot, received a stipend with the award. After telling the crowd of offi cers that citizens throughout the city are extremely grateful for the services they provide to the com munity, Mayor Pro Tern Vivian Burke presented Davis with a res olution from the mayor and board of aldermen proclaiming Law Enforcement Memorial Week throughout Winston a Salem. The contingent from the sher iff's department rivaled that of the police department in atten dance. Sheriff Ron Barker was unable to make the event because of his mother's health. Col. Allen Gentry spoke on Barker's behalf. He praised the event. Oftentimes the only news the public hears; about law enforcement is bad news. Gentry said. Gentry, who works in internal affairs, said people call his department only when they want to report wrongdoing. "I don't get any phone calls from people commending us, telling us we are doing a good job," he said. But the tide is changing, Gen try said. More and more people ,are coming to appreciate the work that he and his fellow law enforcers do. . After it was over, much of the crowd dispersed, but some hung around to view the many exhibits that have been erected around the mall by various departments. The most touching display belongs to the Winston-Salem Police Department. Mail-goers likely will not mi6s the 19 head shots of Winstop Salem's finest on a large display table near the main entrance. The pictures are of officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Some of the pictures are in color. Others are in fuzzy black and white. They stretch back more than a century, from Offi cer M.M. Vickers, who was shot near the courthouse in 1895, to Officer S.L. Amos II, who was killed by a suspect during a police standoff at an apartment coiri plex on Feb. 27, 1995. Many of the officers, however, did not die at the hands of a gun man. A number of them died in accidents involving police vehi cles. Both African American offi cers featured in the memorial died in such accidents. Officer A1 C. Kinard was killed in 1961 when his three wheel vehicle crashed into a light pole. After his death, helmets became a requirement through out the department when operat ing such vehicles. Officer M.R. Jennings died in See Memorial on A3 Photo by T Kevin Walk or Steven Hailey, Mt, and Kannath Penderman, officers with the Orange County Correctional Cantor, work an exhibit in Hanes Mall.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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