wo.
Author with Winston-Salem ties will receive award at conference. See Page A 2
^orth defense key to
victory over Glenn
SportsWeek
Carver vdn well
deserved
• • • •
Community
See All
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High Point native
doing well as actor
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Order of Eastern
Star crowns queens
Winston-Salem Greensboro
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Vol. XXVII No. 2
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The Choice for African American News
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2
Still Rallying
Liberians will again ask powers that be for right to stay in US.
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Photo by Kevin Walker
s Hunder speaks before a group of Liberians Sunday evening.
[oms still fighting
r gun regulations
Thousands of Liberians living
in the United States are expected
to take part in a dramatic demon
stration in front of the U.S. Capi
tol today, two weeks before a pro
vision ends that has allowed thou
sands of them to remain in this
country over the least year.
Liberians and supporters of
their cause have held similar rallies
over the years, all aimed at getting
Congress to pass legislation that
would grant them permanent resi
dent status here.
Many Liberians were made
temporary residents of this coun
try more than a decade ago when a
civil war in Liberia threatened to
topple the small West African
nation. But that war ended with a
cease-fire agreement in 1996. In
1998 the State Department decid
ed that the nation was safe enough
for the refugees to return home
and did not renew temporary resi-.
dent status for more than 10,000
Liberians.
Since then, the Liberians have
been granted one-year stays by the
president and Congress, but not
the permanent resident status they
so desperately seek. If Congress
does not act, either by voting to
grant residency or approving an
extension, by Sept. 29, the refugees
will be forced to return to Liberia,
a nation that many of them still
feel is not as democratic as it
would like the world to believe.
“This is a desperate situation
right now....The 29th will soon be
here,” James Hunder, president of
{SCOTT
HRONICLE
VIcNei//
emmons resident Diane Rousseau didn’t aban-
ler quest for better gun control laws in May
:he Million Mom March in Washington D.C.
e and other concerned citizens are bringing
the fight to Forsyth County.
At the Million Mom March
Forsyth Chapter’s first official
meeting last Thursday evening,
their purpose was clear. “If we
can do sensible gun control, we
can save people and some chil
dren, “ said Rousseau. “It is
exploding and we’ve got to put
a stop to it.”
The Million Mom March, a
grassroots chapter-based
national organization, was the
child of Donna Dees-Thomases.
1 Mother’s Day, more than 800,000 women
ten marched in Washington, D.C., as a mes-
to politicians that stricter gun control was
d.
date, there are 129 chapters nationwide, all
ng the organization’s beliefs that gun trauma
ges the economic, social and spiritual well-
of the nation and children have a right to
up in gun-free environments,
lusseau and other members of the chapter met
; bus on the way to the Million Mom March,
there they kept in touch and tried to spread
jrd about their mission.
5 /e’re wanting to make a difference,” said pres-
1 Gail McNeill.
I e organization’s priorities are to push for laws
would encourage better licensing and registra-
rocedures for handgun owners, product safety
irds, background checks at gun shows and
ng gun buyers to buy no more than one gun a
1 to slow gun trafficking,
just makes sense: The more guns that are
the more shooting there will be,” said
Local man doesn’t mind bearing a
resemblance to popular wrestler
BY CHERIS HODGES
THE CHRONICLE
' d
eau.
(lile many of the chapter’s members decided to
' lecause of general interest, Tracey Maxwell’s
came from the mass shootings in schools.
, t did it for me was Columbine,” she said.
See Mom march on A9
He is known as the most electrify
ing man in sports entertainment. Mil
lions and Millions of his fans can
“smell what The Rock is cooking.” But
one of his fans has something that the
other millions don’t. He has an eerie
resemblance to The Rock. He looks so
much like the famed wrestler that peo
ple stop him on the street and ask for
autographs.
His name is Joey Forrest.
Forrest doesn’t mind the mistaken
identity. He is a huge fan of wrestling.
“No matter where I go, whether it’s
to the club or the downtown jazz, peo
ple say, ‘Hey, Rock, are you going to
lay the smack down on somebody’s
candy-ass?”’ he said.
Forrest answers the people with a
smile and a yes. “People don’t call me
Joey anymore; they just call me The
Rock,” he said.
It has been a year since The Rock,
also known outside of the ring as
Dwayne Johnson, became one of the
most popular professional wrestlers in
the Worldwide Wrestling Federation.
He calls himself “the people’s champi
on” and he is currently the WWF
champion. This is quite a feat for a
minority wrestler. He has held the title
for a few months now. As The Rock
rose to fame, Forrest’s face began to
attract a lot of attention.
“Ever since last year around this
time (people have been calling him The
Rock), especially when I went to see
Raw (Is War) in December. We were
standing there side by side and people
thought we were twins,” he said.
Forrest said he met the wrestler
See Forrest on A10
the Liberian Organization of the
Piedmont, said Sunday at a pre
rally gathering at Goler Memorial
AME Zion Church.
Hunder spoke before a group
of about a dozen Liberians who
plan to participate in the rally
today. The Liberian Organization
of the Piedmont is one of many
regional chapters of the Union of
Liberian Associations in the
Americas. Hunder estimates that
about 1,500 Liberians call the
See Liberians on A5
Talks begin
today to discuss
future of debates
BY CHERIS HODGES
THE CHRONICLE
Will he or won’t he? This is the
question that many in the Win
ston-Salem community are asking.
Will Gov. George W. Bush show
up at the Oct. 11 debate at Wake
Eorest University?
Bush has challenged Vice Pres
ident A1 Gore to a series of
debates that are less formal and
more geographically diverse, said
Tucker Eskew, a Bush campaign
spokesman.
“The governor has proposed a
thorough schedule of debates,”
Eskew said of Bush. “The original
schedule had no debates scheduled
in the West Coast.”
He added that Bush feels Cali
fornia is a representation of a lot
of changes in the United States,
with its large population of
minorities.
Yet, the Commission on Presi
dential Debates is hopeful that the
candidates will be able to agree on
a schedule of debates. Members of
the Bush and Gore camps will
meet with the commission today.
According to Janet Brown, the
executive director of the commis
sion, this meeting will allow all
parties involved to come to a con
sensus on the debate schedule. The
Gore campaign has already
accepted the entire schedule devel
oped by the commission nine
months ago.
However, Eskew said do not
expect Bush to back down from
his decision to stay away from
Wake Forest.
“The governor is a leader.
When he takes a strong stance, he
does not back down,” he said.
Gore’s deputy national spokes-
See Debate on A4
QEI going the extra mile
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Photo by Kevin Walker
a Hooper adjusts papers on a bulletin board in the hallway of Quality Education Institute,
Quality Edueation Institute has
been schooling students with its
brand of “holistic learning” for
nearly 10 years. The school’s
approach to education - which offi
cials describe as a well-oiled
machine that combines innovative
teaching techniques with individual
ized learning ~ has paid off. Two
years ago, the private, nonprofit ele-
-mentary school received “School of
Excellence” distinction based on the
state’s End-of-Grade Test.
Students at QEI, who range
from pre-K youngsters to fifth-
graders, have also continually
scored far above grade level on the
California Achievement Test and
other standardized measures.
But the success has gone some
what unknown to those not affiliat
ed with the school. Years after its
inception, officials admit, QEI is an
enigma to many people in the com
munity.
“A lot of our parents have told
us that this is the best kept secret in
the city,” said Sandra Hooper, head
master for QEI and its sister-school.
Quality Education Academy, a pub
lic charter school serving middle
school students that was started in
1997.
The school does not want to be
a big secret anymore. Hooper wants
everyone who drives by the school’s
tidy campus on Carver School Road
to know that QEI is a rarity in the
world of education today - a school
that provides superior education in
a small, intimate environment.
“Parents look to us when they
want a safe, nurturing environment
for their children in a small class set
ting where there are no more than
15 students per class.
Because QEI is private - the
only private, African-American,
non-religion-based school of its
kind in the county - officials feel
they have been able to cross tradi
tional boundaries and in the process
open students’ eyes to a whole new
way of learning.
In addition to the standard
course study utilized by schools
throughout the state, QEI offers rig
orous computer training, electives
like ballet and piano and lessons in
character and morality that begin
each day for the students when they
recite QEFs 10 commandments, a
list that includes vows to believe in
God, discipline, love and education.
“We have found that the best
way to teach discipline is to focus on
character,” Hooper said. “When
you build character, you are build
ing a good foundation for the
school....You are giving them a rea-
See QEI on A10
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