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Local cancer
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75 cents Winston-Salem Gkeensbokh llu.II Point Vol. XXVII No. 21
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Locals: Jackson's victories outweigh failures
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Arguably, no community cheered louder
this week when the Rev. Jesse Jackson
announced that he would continue his cru
sades on behalf of disenfranchised people
everywhere.
Jackson's roots run deep here in the
Triad: he and three of his children graduated
from N.C. A&T State University. Jackson
has been a frequent guest at his alma mater
for years, often attending commencement
ceremonies and other high profile university
events.
"The ground is no place for a champion,"
Jackson told an Associated Press reporter
Saturday. "The ground is no place that I will
wallow on."
Mis decision to continue to fight the good
light reversed comments lie made in a state
ment last week in which he said he would dis
appear from public life to work on his per
sonal life. The news thai Jackson, married for
38 years, had a love ehild with an aide he car
ried on an atTair with hit last week like a
nuclear bomb, sending tremors through
those who admire the civil rights leader.
"It's heartbreaking news." said Linda
Sutton, a voter awareness advocate and com
munity activist. "It may have some effect on
the effectiveness of what he has been doing,
but his reason for activism, helping blacks, is
very real. None of us (is) perfect."
Jackson revealed the secret about the
baby, who is now 20 months, days before a
supermarket tabloid was set to publish pic
tures of the baby's mother and a story about
the affair. Jackson was in the midst of" plan
ning a protest rally in Florida in response to
ballots there that were not counted as a result
of the Supreme Court's ruling in the presi
dential election matter.
Bill Tatum. president of the Winston
Salem NAACP branch, said the timing of"
the revelation was a little too coincidental.
I '
"It was very untimely." he said. "It was an
attempt to silence the protest movement of
the voters whose votes were not counted."
Jackson has also questioned the timing of
the news. He compared the revelation about
his affair with similar threats aimed at anoth
er civil rights icon. He told the Associated
Press that Martin Luther King Jr.. whom he
worked under during the most heated years
of the Civil Rights Movement, received notes
threatening to reveal King's affairs just days
before King was set to accept the Nobel
Peace Prize.
Like King. Jackson said lie will keep his
eye on the prize.
"A two-year-old story was made public."
Jackson said. "So. one can sense that there
may be some motivation. But ... I accept my
responsibility. What we must do here is put
our focus not on my pain, but the people's
agenda."
Tatum said he does not condone Jack
Sir Jesse Jackson on At 1
Photo b> Tim Boyle/New smakcri
Roosevelt Nelson Jr. of
Chicago walks with a
sign that reads "Jesse
Not Jesus" on Jan. 19
outside the
Rainbow/PUSH Coali
tion National Office in
Chicago, III.
Family wants
help in finding
missing woman
BY PAUL COLLINS
TWE CHRONICl l
The family of tula Gamble, who
has been missing since Dec. 26. is
asking anyone who has seen her to
call the family, daughter LaTonya
Gamble said Monday.
"The last time I saw Iter was that .
morning when she dropped my
uncle (her brother) oil' at my grand
mother's house at 1640 E. 22nd
Street in Winston-Salem, about
10:30 in the morning."
"She left in a car but I don't
know who she was with," LaTonya
Gamble said.
"She hasn't called anyone and no
one has seen her." LaTonya Gamble
said.
Lula Gamble had most recently
lived with her boyfriend on Green
way Avenue. Winston-Salem. "Her
boyfriend is looking for her too,"
LaTonya Gamble said.
Lula Gamble stayed with her
mother (Thelma Grant) at 1629 E.
22nd Street about two weeks in
November when Lula was sick with
the flu, LaTonya Gamble said.
She still had a cough when she
was last seen, LaTonya Gamble said.
' "She was wearing a gray coat,
khaki-looking pants and white ten
nis shoes. She's 5-3 1/2. She weighs
about 150 pounds: medium brown
skin: hair is off-black.The hist time
we (saw ) her she had some braids
Her eyes are dark brown....She is 35
years old."
Lula Gamble is unemployed.
LaTonya Gamble said.
LaTonya Gamble said Monday
,S'<. Missing <m A4
Photo by Kevin Walker I
Tavis Smiley signs a copy of his latest book for a local fan.
Smiley tells black America to shape up
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
IIII CHRON1C11
Tavis Smiley didn't know that
the highest court in the land would
decide 2(XK)'s racially-charged
presidential race when he was
putting the finishing touches on
"How to Make Black America
Better,"his latest book. Smiley also
had no way of knowing that Jesse
Jackson, black America's preemi
nent leader, would be forced out of
the public spotlight while Smiley
was in the midst of a multi-city
book tour.
The author and talk show host
talked about those ironies as well
as other things last Friday at Spe
cial Occasions.
"The question of what we are
going to do as black Americans to
"Some of us still do
not want to call liim
the president-elect hut
the president-select
because he was select
edoby the Supreme
Court."
-Tavis Smiley
make black America better has
I
taken on increased significance,"
Smiley said, eluding to then-Presi
dent-elect Bush's impending inau
guration and Jackson's decision to
remote himself from the spotlight
after he revealed he fathered a
baby through an affair with a
young aide.
Smiley, who hosts a nighttime
talk show on Black Entertainment
Television and is a regular com
mentator on the "Tom Joyner in
the Morning" radio show, gave the
impromptu talk before signing
copies of the book. Almost UK)
people stood in a snake -ike line
and listened as Smiley talked
about his reasons for writing the
Sir Smiley on All
Competition to test
students' knowledge
Feb. 16 is deadline ft)Y high-school students to
enter Underground Railroad essay contest
BY PAUL COLLINS
llll CHRONIC! I
Forsyth County high school
students have until Feb. 16 to enter
an essay in the Harriet Tubman
Research. Discovery and Essay
Contest, sponsored by The Chron
icle and coordinated by Dr. Ernie
Wade and Associates. A S500 first
prize. $250 second prize and $100
third prize will be awarded in each
of the two divisions: ninth-10th
grades and lltli-12th grades. The
top live finishers in each division
will receive a three-night, four-day
all-expense-paid trip along the
route the Underground Railroad
took in North Carolina.
"Once we determine what the
route is. we're going to travel it."
Wade said.
Wade said there are two estab
lished Underground Railroad sites
in North Carolina at New Bern
and Greensboro. It's the job of
people entering the contest to find
additional sites on the Under
ground Railroad in North Caroli
na. The student's essay will
describe the work he or she did on
the project. Q
How do students go about
finding information? The Internet
is a great source. Wade said. You'll
find a wealth of information if you
look up Harriet Tubman and
Underground Railroad. You may
also want to look up abolitionist
and Quaker.
Public, college and university
libraries and history departments
at universities and historically
black colleges may also be sources
of information'. For example, a
student might find a professor who
will say the absolute authority on
the Underground Railroad is so
and-so and tell you how to contact
the authority.
Also, there is an underground
railroad in Cleveland. Ohio.
And the N.C. Historical Soci
ety could be a source of informa
tion.
Stay focused. There is informa
tion about Underground Railroad
sites all over the country, but con
testants need to find out only
about additional Underground
Railroad sites in North Carolina.
"Given the distance betv en
New Bern and Greensboro, you
have to think there were other sites
(on the Underground Railroad in
North Carolina)," Wade said.
"You're walking at night." That
trip would have taken many days.
"You assume there were addition
al sites."
Also, there may have been a
site closer to North Carolina's
coast than New Be,rn. Wade said.
"You can probably assume ships
left Charleston and other places in
South Carolina and disembarked
somewhere on the coast of North
Carolina."
Anyone interested in entering
V Contest on A4
Living Out Loud
Hearing-impaired teen adds beauty queen to list of accomplishments
T. KEVIN WALKER
CHRONICLE
Brionne Williams' parents have always
instilled in her a sky's the hmit-type of men
tality despite the fact that she has a physical
disability that sometimes creates barriers.
The teen-ager was born with a hearing
disability: all through life she attended regu
lar schools, receiving special instruction to
help her speak properly. Brionne taught her
self to sign and read lips.
With her hearing aid. Brionne s hearing
is about 25 percent. An only child. Brionne
has thrived because of her outgoing person
ality, and her ability to faugh when others
might cry. her parentrbclieve.
' It was that personality that propelled her
to the Miss Parkland (High School) title.
After being first runner-up in 1999 she took
the title last November, donning dazzling
evening and sports wear along the way.
But it was her talent that her parents
believed won the title for Brionne. She has
played the piano for more than 10 years and
exercised her skills to the extreme by per
forming a difficult classical piece during the
pageant.
Brionne. with a big smile, is the first to
admit that the performance didn't go as well
as she had planned.
"I messed up one lime." she laughed.
Her mother. Dr. Myrna Williams, a psy
chologist in private practice, said she
believes she knows why the judges over
looked the faux pas.
"I think the judges recognized the diffi
culty of what she was doing." Myrna
Williams said. "I think people are also real
proud of her and see her as a role model as
far as being a hearing impaired person. The
fact that she can play the piano well and
only has 25 percent hearing is really a bless
ing,"
See Williams on At 0
Photo h> Kcmii Walker
Brionne Williams practices the piano in her home.
The Chronicle wins
awards for news reporting
FROM si \l I REPORTS
The Chronicle picked up two
awards in the 2(XX) North Carolina
Press Association News, Editorial
and Photojournalism Contest.
The annual awards are given in
various categories and are judged
by the stall's of newspapers in
other states.
Chronicle sports editor Sam !
Davis and T. Kevin Walker won a
third-place prize in the News
Davis
enterprise Reporting category tor
a story published last year about a local teen who killed
his much older girlfriend and then himself. The award is
Davis' first non-sports NCPA prize: his sports section has
racked up many of the awards over <he years.
Walker and former Chronicle reporter Cheris Hodges
also won a third-place award in the General News
Reporting category for a story written a year ago about
black leaders refusing to go to the local Adam's Mark
hotel because of allegations of racism that had been
lodged at the hotel chain. The award is Hodges' first
NCPA prize and Walker's third.
The awards are scheduled to be presented tonight in
Chapel Hill.
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