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Winston-Salem Greensboro High Point
Vol. XXVII No. 16
107 062201
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The Choice for African American News
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2 1, 2
I for
to
:ism
Program will help aid transition
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
bring Hispanic children and their par
ents into the fold, training them in
skills that many English speakers take
for granted.
arolina Martin
r. Commission
the General
3 to encourage
hout the state
ream of the late
be commission
bey presented a
the YWCA of
and Forsyth
its Millennium
reping, multi-
that aims to
ither.
1 directs us to
le, to include all
ork actively to
jptance among
Florence Cor-
director of the
the Millennium
for women, for
and teen-agers
8r today with
Jfermining what
cultural rela-
like tomorrow.
1 that as long as
i are coming
ingful dialogue
; bridge will be
id the Y’s Mil
ls the place
tt can happen.
i jump-started
ago with an
fn the Winston-
fln. The Echo
Illy designed to
that bring peo-
r constructive
lillennium Vil-
rroduced Sisters
Itraightforward
Women of vari-
jup meets regu-
.)t button issues.
nationally-
t Face to Face
fCA as part of
:t. The exhibit,
the Y gives a
eof racism and
I
Daisy Rodriguez Bartash left a 20-
year career in the corporate world to
tackle a new set of chal-
lenges, ones that, arguably, 'ffs uot atout takim them bv tkc hauds and
are more difficult than any ®
she discussed in a board-
room.
Bartash has been
pegged by the Winston-
Salem Chamber of Com
merce to head El Puente, a new pro
gram based out of Hall-Woodward
Elementary School that will try to
leading them; it’s about guiding them and giving
them took” - Daisy Bartash
“This is near and dear to my
heart,” Bartash said of the reason she
left big business. “It’s just an amazing
thing when something good can come
out of what you are doing.”
The chamber came up with El
Puente, which means “the bridge” in
^ Spanish, to help His-
panics who have not yet
learned to navigate
through American cul
ture because of lan
guage barriers. Many
Hispanics, Bartash said,
have difficulty finding
health and social ser
vices for their children because of
their lack of English skills.
See Bridge on A2
Photo courtesy of Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce
Daisy Bartash symbolically poses near a bridge.
Holiday Hooray!
•Photo by Kevin Walker
Shedrick Adams plays the role of Santa Claus at a Christmas party last week for tots at the Beth
lehem Center. The little ones were treated to music, food and Adams' spirited portrayal of Old
Saint Nick. See page All for story and more pictures.
Many blacks still
upset, despite finality
in presidential race
BY HAZEL TRICE EDNEY
•NNPA
Gore
Johnson elected to national board
iublic relations
fdirector at the
.rchitect of the
ge. She said the
MLK commis-
e Y to continue
s that will help
lents.
f to (the Millen-
las really been
►uld hope for,”
See MLK on A4
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Alderman Joycelyn Johnson of
Winston-Salem was elected to the
board of directors of the National
League of Cities (NEC) Dec. 9 as
the' league concluded its annual
meeting in Boston.
Johnson, who currently serves
on the NEC Community and Eco
nomic Development Policy Steer
ing Committee, will serve a two-
year term on the 40-member NEC
board. The board, which elects 20
t batch of Forsyth County Jail inmates receive GEDs
new mem
bers each
year, has the
lead role in
shaping pri
orities and
directing the
activities of
the oldest
and largest
national
organization
representing
municipal
Johnson
governments.
More than 4,000 local govern
ment leaders attended the 2000
Congress of Cities. The delegates
also elected new officers for the
coming year, and Mayor Dennis
Archer of Detroit was elected to
serve as NEC’s president for the
year 2001.
“Joycelyn Johnson has been a
valuable leader in her community,
and we look forward to having
those talents and insights con-
See Johnson on A9
WASHINGTON - Protesters outside the U.S. Supreme Court Dec.
11 - from grassroots to leading activists - vowed that their quest for
justice for black voters in Florida will continue even if it takes the next
four years.
“We are sending a strong word to the Supreme
Court of ‘No Justice, No Peace,”’ said A1 Kally,
among the thousands of Democratic and Repub
lican protesters awaiting the ultimate U.S.
Supreme Court decision on whether to restart the
recount. The court ruling came night of Dec. 12
in favor of a Bush White House in a 5-4 decision.
“We’re going to call George Bush a thief and
take the protests to the White House every day,”
said Kally, a 44-year-old travel agent of
Hyattsville, Md.
Gary Flowers, a deputy director of Rev. Jesse
Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition, said the Chicago-
based organization will continue to hold rallies
and vigils calling on the “United Nations to investigate” the treatment
of blacks at the polls, including arrests, harassment, racial profiling,
and people being arbitrarily turned away in predominantly black areas.
Flowers, who helped to register new voters across the nation, said
at least 200,000 new voters were registered in Florida alone. Of the
940,000 African Americans eligible to vote, 893,000 voted, he said. The
fact that the most disenfranchisement happened in majority b’ ck
areas is not a mistake, he said.
The crowd heated up as Jackson emerged from
the courthouse to a chorus of simultaneous cheers
and boos.
“Jes-se! Jes-se! Jes-se!” the Democratic protest
ers chanted, hailing the civil rights leader who has
flown back and forth from Florida to D.C. to his
home base in Chicago, fighting for the vote count
that the U.S. Supreme Court would ultimately say
is unconstitutional.
Flowers, greeting members of the crowd,
vowed that Jackson would continue the fight long
past this phase of the battle.
People of all ages and backgrounds - from
Main Street-type lawyers arguing their cases, to students too young to
vote, to seasoned activists from the Civil Rights Movement - chanted
in front of the monumental white building encircled by some 40 police
men, many in riot gear, including helmets and batons in hand.
See Protest on A4
Bush
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Photo by Kevin Walker
I looks through an anthology of short stories with
[il/ioms, one of the contributors to the booklet.
Claudette Henry read a poem
at a graduation ceremony early
this week, just minutes before
she received her GED.
The poem focused on staying
positive, even as others doubt,
and holding onto hope, even
when there is nothing else to
hold onto.
Henry said she’s been there.
She wrote the poem one night,
several months ago. To her, it is
not just words on paper, but an
affirmation, a source of light
and hope in a place where one
expects to find neither.
Henry’s graduation ceremony
took place in a small room
behind a corridor of steel,
locked doors. She wore no cap. A
dark blue jumpsuit with the
words Forsyth County Deten
tion Center scrolled across the
back substituted as her gown.
Henry and about a dozen of
her fellow inmates became a sta
tistic when they received their
GEDs, but a positive statistic
this time. They joined about 100
other inmates who received
GEDs over the past three years
through a program administered
by Forsyth Technical Communi
ty College.
“I was determined to get
this,” Henry said proudly as she
stared at a transcript of her
passing GED scores. Her certifi
cate will be sent from Raleigh.
“I want to make a difference;
it’s time enough,” she continued.
Henry’s release date is
unclear. Her plans for the future
are not cloudy, though. Henry
talks with great excitement
about studying computers and
pursuing a high-tech career.
Prison officials say inmates
like Henry who receive their
GEDs in jail have less chance of
returning once they are released.
Brenda Manley, program man
ager at the jail, said the rate of
recidivism (relapse into criminal
behavior) for GED graduates is
only about 15 percent, far less
than the rate for inmates without
them.
“We feel that it is the key to
cutting the recidivism rate,”
Manley said. “We usually don’t
see them again once they get that
diploma.”
As program manager. Man-
ley said she has proudly taken
the charge given to her by Sher
iff Ron Barker and Maj. Wayne
James (the Sheriff’s Department
runs the jail) to implement pro
grams that give inmates a
chance to become productive
members of society once they
serve their time. Everything
from English as a Second Lan
guage classes to haircutting
courses are offered at the jail.
But the GED program has
become the most popular. Man-
ley said. The waiting list for the
courses usually has more than
100 names on it. Sessions are
limited, with a few instructors
coming to the jail a couple times
a week to guide inihates toward
achieving GEDs.
Roni Valenti, GED examiner
for Forsyth Tech, said waiting
list numbers usually rise after a
jail graduation ceremony. The
graduates’ fellow inmates are
usually inspired by what they
see, she said.
“When we first started here
See Inmates on A10
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