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Winston-Salem Greensboro High Point
Vol. XXVI No. 21
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The Choice for African American News
THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2
Feen-age brawl reawakens concerns about safety at LJVM
fX. KEVIN WALKER
IE CHRONICLE
A free-for-all at a popular high
hool basketball tournament has
ice again put the Lawrence Joel
jterans Memorial Coliseum
ider the microscope.
The fight took place last Thurs-
ly during the Frank Spencer Bas-
tball Classic. It involved a group
' nearly a dozen teens, some of
[lom the Police Department are
ill trying to identify from footage
■ the incident recorded by local
oadcast media outlets.
The fight has reopened some
Nelson Malloy: ‘I hope it’s not a pattern
old wounds at LJVM. Last fall,
violence erupted at a rap concert
held at the coliseum. A live sex act
was also alleged to have taken
place during the Aug. 28 concert,
which featured multiple rap acts,
including Luther Campbell of 2
Live Crew fame.
The concert also cost three
local African American police
sergeants their ranks. They were
demoted by Chief Linda Davis
after an investigation by Bill Stu
art, the city manager, concluded
that lax supervision by off-duty
police officers, who were hired to
patrol the event, contributed to the
rambunctious atmosphere at the
concert.
“After Aug. (28) and what hap
pened at Frank Spencer, we have
got to do something,” Alderman
Fred Terry said.
Terry said he is concerned
about safety at the coliseum. His
teen-age son attended the rap con
cert.
The city-owned facility’s mar
ketability could be hurt if incidents
of violence continue to occur,
Terry said.
“People won’t go if they feel
unsafe,” he said.
Terry did not attend the basket
ball game at which the fight broke
out, but he says judging by video
tape of the event, the fighting and
chair throwing last for several min
utes before being broken up.
Black leaders say ^no’ to gala
Photo by T. Kevin Walker
The atrium at the Adam's Mark Winston Plaza was transformed into a virtual African Market during the National Black Storytellers
festival,
Womble, Tatum, Eversley will not attend
function at local Adam’s Mark Hotel
BY T. KEVIN WALKER AND
HERIS HODGES
IHE CHRONICLE
A bevy of discrimination
charges levied at the Adam’s
Mark chain by a civil rights
group and the U.S. government
has made some people uneasy
about setting foot in the hotels,
even for fund-raisers.
The Grand Pavilion of the
Adam’s Mark Winston Plaza, the
Winston-Salem hotel, will play
host to a gala benefit for the
United Negro College Fund on
Ian. 15. The event will feature
Food, dancing, a silent auction
and R&B legend Peabo Bryson.
The benefit will also be a cel
ebration of the life and work of
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Sev-
xal local dreamkeepers, organi
sations who have worked to fur-
:her King’s dream, will be hon-
ared at the event, including The
hronicle.
Though local politicians,
Dusiness'people and other nota
bles are also expected to attend
;he event, there will also be sever
al noticeable no-shows.
“I don’t want to kill the spirit
af what (UNCF) is trying to do,
'but) I will not be in attendance,”
said Bill Tatum, president of the
Winston-Salem branch of the
NAACP.
Tatum said his decision was
Wamble
solely based upon the charges of
racism that have dogged the hotel
chain for
nearly a
year.
The
national
N A A C P
filed suit
against the
Daytona
Beach
Adam’s
Mark last
summer
after African
American guests staying at the
hotel during the Black College
Reunion said that they were dis
criminated against. "The guests
said the hotel made black guests
wear orange wristbands and that
security guards were used to
intimidate blacks.
The alleged Daytona Beach
incident and others at the chain’s
20 other hotels led to an investi
gation by the U.S. Justice Depart
ment.
The agency filed suit against
the Adam’s Mark late last
month, claiming the chain dis
criminated against African
Americans by charging them
more than whites, offering them
less desirable rooms and requir
ing more security for black
guests. In addition, the Justice
Department complaint alleges
Tatum
that Adam’s Mark implemented
policies and procedures to
exclude or
limit the
number of
nonwhite
guests in its
hotels.
Telissa
Ward, a
former
employee
of the
Adam’s
Mark Win
ston Plaza,
has filed suit against the local
hotel because she says she was
denied job advancement because
she is African American. Fur
thermore, Ward claims she was
fired after she complained about
discriminatory treatment.
The St. Louis-based chain has
denied the charges. John Wise,
manager of the Adam’s Mark
Winston Plaza, has also denied
that Ward was discriminated
against. The Adam’s Mark chain
has vowed to help the Justice
Department in its probe in any
way possible.
Tatum said it ■ is his under
standing that arrangements to
have the UNCF event at the hotel
were made months before the
Justice Department case became
public. He also acknowledges the
challenges of changing a venue at
Bversley
such a late date, but at the same
time, Tatum says African Ameri
cans have to be wiser when it
comes to
the type of
establish
ments they
chose to
patronize.
“ W e
should only
spend our
money at
places that
appreciate
and respect
us,” he said.
Tatum says he will wait for
the Adam’s Mark to announce
some type of remedy to the
alleged racial practices before he
will be willing to set foot into one
of the hotels.
The Rev. Carlton Eversley,
head of the NAACP Education
Caucus, said the Adam’s Mark
should not get “too comfortable”
with the fact that many African
Americans are continuing to use
its facilitiesin spite of the charges.
“The Adam’s Mark will have
to realize that they are subject to
scrutiny and criticism now,” he
said.
Eversley said he will follow
the lead of his president, Tatum,
and skip the event. He says he
still may announce the event at
See Adam's Mark on A8
“It went on for far too long in
my estimation,” Terry said.
Terry says that safety improve
ments may simply boil down to
additional training for those hired
to provide security at coliseum
events.
Alderman Nelson Malloy says
that his main concern is still how
“harshly” the three sergeants were
treated after the rap concert.
Malloy and members of the
Black Leadership Roundtable have
taken up the officers’ cause, vowing
to use various methods of protests
to win back their stripes.
Malloy says the latest incident
at the coliseum shows that there
may be a deeper problem that must
be dealt with.
“I hope it’s not a pattern, but it
seems that something is missing or
we haven’t learned from past situa
tions,” Malloy said
Malloy says he is also con
cerned about how long the fight
was allowed to go on.
The incident begs the Board of
Aldermen to take a closer look at
the goings-on at LJVM, Malloy
said.
The issue was addressed briefly
at Monday’s aldermen meeting.
See Brawl on A9
Bailey is limiting his
involvement at WSSU
Most outspoken alums are pleased with new ■
chancellor - his background, roots, personality :
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Harold Martin, Winston-Salem
State University’s new chancellor,
started work
this week
with many of
the school’s
most promi
nent and
vocal alumni
singing his
praises.
It’s a lux
ury that
Martin’s pre-
decessor,
Alvin Schexnider, seldom enjoyed,
especially late in his tenure when
his critics were many and praise
was few and far between.
“I’m excited about (Martin)
coming here,” said Beaufort Bailey.
“I plan on supporting this man as
hard as I fought against
Martin
Schexnider.”
Bailey says he feels at peace
now, with Martin at the helm of his
beloved alma mater. He is so com
fortable and confident in Martin
that he says he will limit his
involvement in school issues.
Bailey became a constant fix
ture at the school during
Schexnider’s reign, attending
trustee meetings, school functions
and press conferences.
Bailey has never minced words
when it comes to the former chan
cellor. He says he was pleased with
Schexnider’s decision to take a job
at Wake Forest University Baptist
School of Medicine. It was the
right decision for all parties
involved, he believes.
Bailey met with Martin before
Christmas. He was joined at the
meeting by fellow WSSU alums
state Rep. Larry Womble and Vic-
See Bailey on A9
Photo by Bruce Chapm^
Thousands attended a New Year's Eve celebration in Kernersvillle. >
Local officials report
few Y2K problems
BY PAUL COLLINS
THE CHRONICLE
Despite the hype, local govern
ment officials reported no signifi
cant Y2K problems.
For more than a year, prognosti
cators have predicted massive com
puter problems brought on by the
notion that many of the nation’s
computers would be unable to read
the year 2000. Computer experts
predicted that a large number of
computers would read the 00 in
2000 :as 1900, which could have
caused computers to shut down.
Government officials and com
puter companies have spent much of
the last year encouraging computer
owners to update their computers to
make them Y2K ready.
According to local officials, the
efforts worked.
“We had a very smooth transi
tion from 1999 into 2000,” said Alice
Milam, project coordinator for
information systems for the city of
Winston-Salem. “We had a couple
little glitches, very minor. We expect
ed that... Basically we were very
pleased. We had very few things that
have gone wrong, if you want to call
it that....”
But after a year of worry, many
wonder whether the Y2K threat is
over. ;
“I think it is over,” Milam said,
adding that minor Y2K issues may
See Y2K on A2
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