Roundtable backs out of
C Kids Day, talks Y2K
By PAUL COLLINS
THECHHOMCLE
Two days before the second annual C Kids Day youth summit, some
members of the Black Leadership Roundtable of Winston
Salem/Forsyth Forsyth County expressed opposition to the summit
because ultraconservative Armstrong Williams was one of the scheduled
speakers.
The discussion took place at a meeting of the roundtable last Thurs
day night after Tabitha Bell, a member of the roundtable and coordina
tor of the youth summit, gave a report about the ?
upcoming summit.
Bell reported that, because the executive com
mittee of the roundtable had expressed opposition
last month to Williams. "I'm not doing it (the sum
mit) under the Black Leadership Roundtable."
She was proceeding udd^r,thet4(ispica? of. an ?
organization called C lcidLWi' ^rfbsidSltK! at ai?;
organization hronicles 2% She is executive
director of C \fcidv and Chronicles;tf, 'both* rfT"
which put on wholesome eritertainmfrrt; am^alrid'
educational activities. .-j k
Williams is a regular on talk shows^ntaffqpmfictt, ^
a syndicated colunyiist who appears in more fhatr
100 newspapers and the host of" his own Washiogton-U.C.-based radio
talk show "The Right Side with Armstrong "Williams." Some local
African American leaders have condemned Williams' ultracdnservative
view s and cited a sexual harassment suit filed against Williams by a male
employee (a suit Williams says has been dropped).
At the rbundtable meeting last Thursday night. Bell said of Williams:
"He is very opinionated. His opinions arc sometimes not suitable and not
acceptable by a lot of African Americans and Caucasians alike."
But Bell said that Williams was only a small part of the summit, and
she thought too much focus was being placed on
him RpH coirl that thp vnufh cummit hmsHaH tn talrp
IUII1. LFVII JU1U IIIUI iII*. jvmwi juiiuuii tivvuvvi iv mnv
place because children are homeless, children are
hungry-, children are dying. "We can't get hung up
on the speaker."
Two other people - an official from the U.S.
Department of Labor and an official from the N.C.
Department of Labor - were scheduled to speak at
the summit about labor laws affecting youths. Bell
said.
Khalid Griggs, co-convener of the roundtable,
said : "I'm going to tfy to put this as tactfully as I'm
capable of putting it (It was the) clear decision on
the part of the roundtable this event was going to
,stop The decision of the executive committee (of the roundtable) is being
circumvented by getting another sponsor."
Griggs said that Tabitha Bell "is C Kids." He said, "Putting it (the
youth forum) under C Kids, and the same person is responsible for
both...to me it is circumventing the decision made by this organization to
can the program."
Joycelyn Johnson, a member of the roundtable and a Winston-Salem
alderwoman. said that she, too, understood that "we would not have any
thing to do with it."
Bell responded, "We can't can a program that's not just ours." She
said other organizations are involved, including the Winston
Salem/Forsyth County Human Relations Commission, which provided
input and support.
"Our children are dying and anybody who can help our children
I needs to to have a platform." Bell said.
Griggs said he agreed with Bell philosophically about the need to help
children, but he disagreed with having Williams as a speaker.
Johnson said she was concerned that the human relations department
was involved in a program in which the ultraconservative Williams was a
speaker, "without the other side" being represented.
The roundtable took no official position about the summit during the
public portion of the meeting, but near the end of the meeting the round
table went into closed session, then adjourned; then the executive com
; mittee of the roundtable went into closed session, then-adjourned. After
the meetings, several members of the roundtable and its-executive com
mittee declined to comment about the roundtable's official position |
about the summit.
In an interview Monday, Bell said that the summit took place on Sat
urday and Williams and two labor department officials were speakers
I Bell said that Williams' speech was inspirational, not political.
!' "His general topic was if you respect your parents your days will be
; long and more fruitful. Put Gpd first," she said.
She acknowledged that the executive committee of the roundtable
had a special meeting last month in which members of the committee
said they could not support the summit because Armstrong was going to
be a speaker, and the roundtable was "backing out" as one of the orga
nizations helping put on the summit.
I After the committee meeting, Bell said, she talked with some of the
I other organizations helping coordinate the summit and some of the
; entertainment groups scheduled to perform, and they told her that they
> would stand by whatever decision she made about holding the summit.
! She said she decided to stand by Williams.
4 "I try to teach children leadership (skills)," she said. What kind of
; message would she be sending the youths if "at the last minute I say I
'? don't want to do it (the summit)? I had to back that speaker....I stood by
I him. I believed in him." . ...
?J Bell said she beard Williams give a motivational speech in 1996. "1
* knew nothing about his political views I said kids need to hear this"
Bell said that Williams too. stood by C Kids Day-by going ahead with
! his plans to be a speaker at the youth summit despite the opposition.
Last year, the three coordinating organizations involved with C Kids
Day were the Junior Roundtable (the teen committee of the Black Lead
! ership Roundtable; Bell is chairman of the Junior Roundtable), Chroni
\ cles 29 and Children Against Racism and Violence.
; This yean because of the controversy surrounding Williams being a
speaker, the Junior Roundtable and Children Against Racism and Vio
? lence withdrew as coordinating organizations Bell said, noting that she
thought that was unfortunate for the youths
"I had to do all the program b> myself with input,and support of the
Human Relations Commission," Bell sajd. ,r
In other business at the roundtable meeting last Thursday" night.
Kevin S. Lyons a civil engineering supervisor for the city of Winston
Salem and a member of the city's Y2K committee, said that most of the
city's systems have been tested and are Y2K compliant. The remaining
systems are scheduled to be tested by the end of September.
"We do not anticipate problems with any mission critical items; ser
vice disruption is not anticipated." Lyons said. "Contingency plans are in
place in the event of a computer or power failure."
J * t .
Griggs
CORRECTION
In a photo that appeared in last week's issue of The Chronicle.
Vanard Valentine was incorrectly identifed. Valentine is the stepfa
ther of Telisca Penn. Iota Phi Lambda's Miss Debutante '99.
INDEX
OPINION A6
SPORTS B1
RELIGION .17
CLASSIFIEDS R1 1
HEALTH C3
ENTER C9
CALENDAR CM
Belinda Tata arranges the sculpture "Dogan Dancer" at the Diggs Gallery. Tate, a Winston-Salem native was named art director of the gallery
last month.
1 ? 4
Winston-Salem native takes helm at Diggs
By DAMON FORD
THE CHRONICLE
i '*
Winston-Salem State Univer
sity's Diggs Art Gallery has a
new art director. Belinda Tate.
The Winston-Salem native
takes over for Brooke Anderson,
who accepted a new position in
New York. Tate will officially
begin work on June 1 and is very
excited to do so.
, "This is nice because the peo
ple I enjoy can become a part bf
what 1 do." she said. "My family i
can come to the gallery and par- i
ticipate in some of the things I (
do." ' j
Her first art exhibition at |
Diggs will kick off with a recep
tion June 3 and will remain open-"!
until Sept. 4. Some of the fea- ?,
tured art works include paint- k
ings by Synthia Saint James and |
sculptures by Augie N'Kele and |
Greensboro's own Mark Brown.
"I'm very happy to be able to.
make a contribution to the uni
versity, the students and the
broader community through the
reach Winston-Salem State has
locally," Tate said. "It's impor
tant to me that the Diggs
Gallery has become such an
important vehicle for art educa
tion not only in Winston-Salem
but in the state. I'm honored to
become a part of that tradition."
Already Tate has formulated
a few new ideas for Diggs,
including broadening the artistic
scope of the university.
"We've already h*d great art
work to display. The schedule
for the next two "years is
absolutely fabulous in terms of
the art that's coming here, but
there are other things that can bg
done in helping the audience
interpret and learn more from
the art," she said. as
One way to accomplish this is
through theater in which actors
and actresses interpret art.
\nother is with' music and.
novemenCwhich would encom
pass some dance programs.
"As a cultural and artistic
institution, those kinds of things
are viable to a place like this,"
she said.
Though she worked in bank
ing . for five years, Tate Hits an
extensive background in art.
While studying for a degree in
art at Yale University, she took a
course in British art and archi
tecture at the Paul Mellon Cen
ter in .-London, England, one
summer. '
Later she interned at the U.S.
Department of State in Wash
ington, D.C.. creating a directo
ry of African American art
resources for international exhi
bitions and assisting the head
curator on three exhibitions for
U.S ambassadors, to France,
Botswana and Jamaica. During
the school year Tate worked in
the Yale Center for British Art.
Since returning to Winston
Salem in 1994, she has served on
the boards of directors of Diggs
Gallery arid Delta Fine Arts.
Tate says her interest to look
further into the field was piqued
when she was given the opportu
nity- to learn about African
American women during The
Reconstruction. Many of these
women, such as sculptor Augus
tus Savage, -became artists and
are considered pioneers for
women in the art field.
"1 began to look at thesfc
early African American artist^
and saw them as heroes doing
non-traditional things, and I had
never heard their stories before,?
she said. "I did not know thaj
there were women who were
leaving slavery and going t?
Paris to study in the major art
salons.It was a part of my histor
ry that had been kept from me.'j
From these women Tate felt a
sense of duty to perpetuate the
study of art for others. More
important, she says there's a vast
history that African Americans
can learn about themselves
through art.
In her eyes a picture is worth
a thousand words.
"It's one thing to read about
the horrors of slavery (or) thf
injustices of civil rights, but iFs
another thing to see it conveyed ,
in a painting, photograph or-in
an artistic form," Tate said. "It
may touch ? something in you
that may bring forth an eny
tional response that reading if in
a magazine article wouldn't."
1