^portsWeek
Voodbury comes
lEOugh for Rams
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ntans’ big plays
defeat North
Pink Cadillac: Local woman drives off in dream car. See Pa^^e A 8
Community
Local couple
renew vows
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See A8
Magazine tour to
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Its
Winston-Salem Greensboro High Point
Vol. XXVII No. 4
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SERIALS DEPARTMENT
SB #3938 DAVIS LIBRARY
JNC CHAPEL HILL
SHAPEL HILL NC 27514-8890
any VTPs
end local
dth summit
The Choice for African American News
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2
N WALKER
)NICLE
hairman of one of the most important
Congress was in town last week for a con-
imed at getting local elected officials from
state interested in closing the health divide
vhite and minority communities.
U.S. Rep
Clyburn
James Clyburn, a
S.C. congressman
who heads the
Congressional
Black Caucus,
was the keynote
speaker at a ban
quet last Friday
which closed the
first day of the
two-day African
American Flealth
Summit.
Clyburn,
though, only
dealt briefly with
the issue of
health during his
speech. Calling
the Sixth District
he represents in
South Carolina
“the stroke belt,”
tpplauded N.C. elected officials for taking
care disparities, but said the commitment
(h beyond one or two states,
nderstand that we are all in this together,”
m also urged officials to keep the issue of
ental health foremost in their minds,
nvironment could very well have a greater
1 health than biology,” he said,
of Clyburn’s remarks dealt with his work
the CBC. Clyburn was introduced by
District Congressman and CBC member
who called Clyburn one of best leaders
s has had.
rn said the group is constantly working,
e glare of the news media, to make condi-
ter for African Americans everywhere.
CBC members toured the stock exchange
ark and met with computer big wheel Steve
America Online, to discuss closing the digi-
rn said he was in Eastern North Carolina
a month ago to discuss with officials from
)me Improvements ways to help Princeville
:s affected by Hurricane Floyd. As a result
seting, Clyburn said, Lowes will donate $1
n building supplies toward the cause,
laid CBC members do not worry about get-
page headlines for the deeds they do.
ot about having press conferences,” he said.
It moving the agenda forward.”
ealth summit managed to draw an impres-
p of state officials, including A. Dennis
the state director of health and human ser-
See Health on A3
Photo by Paul Collins
Dr. D. Smith talks about male-female relationships and strengthening families.
Relationships and the city
Workshop focuses on closing gaps between males and females
BY PAUL COLLINS
THE CHRONICLE
Dr. “D” Smith,
president/chief executive offi
cer of the Winston-Salem
Urban League, really knows
how to give a talk. And last
Saturday, the topic of her talk
- male/female relationships
and strengthening families -
seemed to be especially impor
tant to her.
At times, she seemed like a
teacher as she wrote points on
a huge notepad sitting on an
easel.
Other times she seemed like
q close friend, walking close to
members of the audience as she
gave practical tips about life.
She was part historian, part
street-smart family activist.
She raised and lowered her
hands, and her voice, to make
various points.
At one point, she moved her
hips in a sensual dance to show
how women give messages with
their bodies.
She talked back and forth
with members of the audience.
She shared experiences from
her own life.
Bottom line, her message
was that African Americans
have strayed, in some ways,
from the culture of the Moth
erland, and male-female rela
tionships and families have suf
fered as a result.
On the African continent
“before our culture was inter
rupted,” the wealth of the
African male was judged by
how many children he had and
took care of,” Smith said.
But in the United States
today, when there is a divorce
or separation, often the father
is the last person anybody
thinks about giving the chil
dren to. Why? Because there’s a
common perception that men
can’t take care of children.
See Male-female on A2
Hospital plans to
increase domestic
violence awareness
BY CHERIS HODGES
THE CHRONICLE
Garrou, health center key topics at meeting
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
When Novant Health announced earlier this
year that it would close its New Walkertown Road
practice, it was a blessing in disguise for a local
group that was looking for a home for a free clin
ic it hoped to establish.
Community Care Center will open late next
month in the 14,000-square-foot building, offering
free health care services to the city’s poorest resi
dents. The cliitic will be manned mostly by retired
physicians. Funding from foundations and other
sources will be continually sought out by clinic
officials to keep it operational.
The clinic will cater to those with incomes 200
percent or less than the poverty level. Screens will
be done to determine who qualifies for the free
services, but patients in need of assistance will not
be turned away on their first visit if they do not
qualify.
Several of those affiliated with the new clinic
addressed the Black Leadership Roundtable last
week.
“We feel we can do a good service to the com
munity,” Dr. Ernesto de la Torre told those on
hand for the meeting.
The clinic, which is being launched in coopera
tion with the local medical society, will start with
abbreviated hours. So far, plans are to open the
center three days a week for four hours each day.
But officials said they hope to increase the clin
ic’s hours in the near future. Officials asked the
Roundtable to help them recruit volunteers for the
centers.
“We need volunteers,” de la Torre said. “We
need people to talk to the patients...people to be
kind to the patients.”
Dr. Tom Clark retired from medicine just a
See Roundtable on A4
As a part of the effort to assist victims of
domestic violence in Winston-Salem, the Wake
Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Women’s Health Center of Excellence has
planned several events to increase community-
awareness about domestic violence.
Oct. 6 is the WFUBMC domestic violence;
sticker campaign. Medical center employees will
place domestic violence information in all public
restrooms at the center.
On Oct. 18, community members will march
against domestic violence. Participants in the
march will carry T-shirts representing victims.
The march ends with personal pledges to stop the
violence. The march was organized by Family Ser
vices, a group the Women’s Health Center sup
ports.
According to Shellie Ellis of the Women’s
Health Center, the center has been giving money
to Family Services Women’s Shelter for the last
three years.
In August, the center hosted a triathlon at
Wake Forest University that raised $20,000. This
is the most money that has been raised by this
event. Ellis said the participation increased this
year as well as the number of sponsors in the com
munity. She said it is a very difficult issue to deal
with in the community. But there needs to be a
communitywide effort around the issue of domes
tic violence.
Last year, the medical center paid for 80 nights
of care at the Family Services Women’s Shelter.
“Domestic violence is always hard to nail
down how prevalent it is,” Ellis said. “Most
women don’t report it. They’re still afraid or they
have issues in their relationship where they can’t
report it.”
Ellis added that a woman’s race also plays a
role in how domestic violence is reported.
“For Latino women sometimes they have
issues with police and they don’t feel so comfort
able reporting it. African-American women have
some culture issues with violence in their commu
nity and they don’t feel comfortable reporting it,”
she said. “We never know how prevalent it is.
However, in North Carolina, the number of vic
tims of domestic violence was estimated at 31,200.
(The statistics are from 1996). So that gives North
Carolina an F in our efforts to protect women.”
The events planned by the Women’s Health
Center are part of an effort to increase protection
of women from domestic violence and offer them
safe haven.
“The medical center doesn’t necessarily pro
vide direct service (to domestic violence victims).
A lot of those services that are offered for women
in the community are offered by Family Services,”
Ellis said. However, the medical center works
closely with Family Services.
“We have training programs for the medical
students here so that when they are out practicing
medicine they will be able to recognize domestic
violence,” she said. “We have worked with the
medical school curriculum so that they can
respond (to abused patients).”
The Women’s Center provides the medical cen
ter staff with phone numbers to Family Services
and law enforcement agencies that can assist them
further after they have received medical treat
ment.
istoric black town still on rebound
A BURRUS
)ATED MEDIA GROUP
CEVILLE - Over a year
irricane Floyd touched
i Princeville, destroying
id businesses and scatter-
residents throughout the
5 you ride through and see
nd businesses gradually
intact, it is obvious the
resurrecting from its
)f being a ghost town,
nk the progress has been
1,” said Princeville Mayor
kins.
Ipeekend, the town raised
Imillion during its yearly
that will go towards
g and preserving the first-
irtered town,
percent will go towards
unmet needs, meaning if residents
have no appliances or whether to
help them buy two by fours,” public
relations director Kim Burwell
said. “Thirty percent will go
towards our Heritage Trail and 20
percent will go to the African
American museum that will be the
restoration of the old town hall.”
For some residents who have
settled back in their homes, the
experiences of the past year seem
almost surreal.
“When I sit down and think
about it, it seems like it was a
dream,” lifelong resident Thad
Knight said. “Like it wasn’t even
natural.”
However, not enough residents
have been able to come back home
and pick up the pieces.
“I had a lot of people call me
over the weekend, saying they can’t
believe ‘it was a year ago and I’m
still not back in my home,”’ said
Phyllis Waller, co-owner of Phillips
Printing Supply Co. in Tarboro.
“We run a little behind on get
ting houses on the ground but all
of that is in the making,” Perkins
added.
“We should have some other
houses on the ground in the near
future. But we do have individual
citizens that are rebuilding from
the ground up as well as have citi
zens that are rehabbing (their
homes).”
Of the 2,100 residents that
resided in the first-black chartered
town before the flood, more than
500 have decided to move back to
Princeville.
Only 125 families have moved
back either in their homes or in
trailers.
“Hopefully by the end of the
year, we’ll see a greater number of
people,” Perkins said. “We should
have another 40 families coming
over here pretty soon.”
“The biggest thing we wait for is
infrastructure improvements,”
Princeville recovery manager
Bobby Hopskins said. “Water
improvements alone is going to
cost $6.8 million. We anticipate
extending water lines, annexing
areas, providing new water ser
vice.”
Although it may take years for
homes to be rebuilt and adjusted,
Hopskins added the work will be
worth it in the long run.
“Actually, some people are
going to benefit greatly from this
disaster,” Hopskins said. “We’ve
had a few residents whose living
See Princeville on A4
Princeville Mayor Delia Perkins talks with state Rep. Larry
Wamble last year shortly after the flood.
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