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Duke center named
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Male choirs make
joyful noise
75 cents W I NSTO N-S A L F. M GKFENSBOKO H IG H POINT ' Vol. XXVII No. 23
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Photos by Kevin Walker
Griot Kwabena Dinixulu tells African-based tales to a group of youngsters.
A Griot's Tale
Ibraham students get one-man variety show to kick off Black History Month
BY I KEVIN WALKER
Mil CHRONICLE
Kwabena Dinizulu spends
most of the year traveling to
schools and community centers all
over the country. Adorned in;
bright African clothes with his
conga drum never far away,
Dinizutu is like a one-man play,
colorfully acting out stories and
reciting poems that have underly
ing moral themes.
As a full-time poet and griot
(African storyteller or historian),
he works frequently, but his phone
rings incessantly during February.
National Black History Month.
Dinizulu is no stranger to
schoolchildren here. He has been a
guest at several schools. Last
week, he kicked off the first day of
Black History Month with several
lively performances at Ibraham
Elementary School.
He taught the youngsters basic
Swahili words, first say ing them in
syntax and then asking them to
repeat them. He explained to stu
dents the importance of the story
telling in African culture, telling
them that a good story to Africans
is like medicine.
"We believe a story told to
us...will make our souls better." he
said.
Though not bom in the moth
erland, Dinizulu received cultural
enlightenment from the time he
was a little boy growing up in
Students at Ibraham Elementary School respond with laughter to Dinizulu's actions. The griot per
formed for all grades at the school last week.
Harlem. His parents were very
much involved in "the movement."
People like Malcolm X were fre
quent guests at his house as a
child. Dinizula has crafted his abil
ity to bring stories to life over the
last' 15 years, first by participating
in open-mike poetry events, then
graduating into storytelling.
He had Ibraham students
rolling in the aisles as with his
overexaggerated facial expressions
and wide range of voices.
Dinizula shared with them a
story about a woodsman who acci
dentally drops his makeshift ax
into a river and prays to the gods
that it be retrieved. The gods
answer, but first put the man to the
test. He is presented with a silver
ax from the bottom of river. The
woodsman is tempted to accept it.
but his conscience kicks in and he
admits that it's not the ax he lost.
The woodsman is then presented
with a gold ax, but again, he
admits that it is not his ax. The
Woodsman is paid for his honesty
in the end, and is given both axes
as well as the one he lost.
"There is a moral to this story,"
Dinizulu said td) his Indian-style
seated audience. "The moral
begins with one word honesty."
The students, in unison, finished
the moral "is the best policy."
Dinizulu also told a story
about a beautiful African Village
St't Griot <m A10
?-/
Secretary of state speaks to high school students
Marshall says she will decide about
U.S. Senate run by this summer
BY T KEVIN WALKER
nil CHRONIC! I
Women in politics, like many
other professions, have to work
twice as hard as their male coun
terparts. proclaimed N.C. Secre
tary of State Elaine Marshall last
week.
Marshall was in town Jan. 31
to talk to a group of students at
Parkland High School about the
importance of thinking globally
and connecting with people
worldwide. That topic is quite rel
evant for some Parkland students
these days. The school has joined
the Classroom to Classroom pro
gram and is just beginning to
form a relationship with Vasile
Alecsandri. a school in the former
Soviet Union country of Moldo
va.
Thirty five schools in North
Carolina are in the Classroom to
Classroom program, which links
Tar Heel students with students
in other countries for learning
and interacting purposes. The
program is part of the N.C. Cen
ter for International Understand
ing. one of the many agencies
that fall under the secretary of
state's jurisdiction.
Marshall gave the students a
brief description of the many
tasks she must juggle as secretary.
Her office not only serves as the
state's certification headquarters,
but also has dealings with some
See Marshall on A2
Photo by Kevin Walker
Secretary of State Elaine Marshall talks to students at Parkland.
'Fly jock' lends
helping hand to
county jail inmates
Tom Joyner grants 'Christmas
Wish' to book program
BY CORTNEY L HILL
THE CHRONICLE
Tom Joyner, host of "The Tom
Joyner Morning Show." donated sev
eral books as part of a "Christmas
Wish" in January to Chaplain Mar
tin Pickett of the Forsyth Correc
tional Center in Winston-Salem. To
show appreciation, Pickett, who
asked for help in maintaining the
prison's reading program, will will
ingly rename the book club "The
Tom Joyner Book Club,"
Pickett started the book club a
year ago and has watched the pro
gram grow. It currently has eight
members. When expansion grew
beyond financial control, Pickett
knew he lacked the resources to
uphold the program. Meeting Joyn
er at a N.C. A&T symposium, he
became inspired by his giving heart
and down-to-earth personality.
Pickett thought to himself, "If I can
get Tom Joyner to support the book
club, I can get
anyone's sup
port." Pickett
decided to
send a letter
requesting
books by
black authors
covering sub
jects that per
tain to
A V r i r.
American males. On Jan. 24. Tom
Joyner granted Pickett his "Christ
mas Wish" by reading his letter on
the air.
Joyner will make a one-time
donation of 112 books, enough for
each member to receive his own per
sonal copy of every featured book.
Pickett says he decided to write to
Joyner's "Christmas Wish" because
he wanted to raise awareness of the
inmates needs. By getting it out
nationally, he feels that it car. help
.Sc. Joyner . .<? A3
Joyner
Hymes, Martin top list
of award recipients
FROM STAFF REPORTS
The new
chancellor
of Winston
Salem State
University
and a long
time advo
cate for
young peo
ple were
? . selected
Martin . , ,
Man and
Woman of
the Year for the 18th annual
Chronicle Awards Banquet.
Harold Martin and Addie
Hymes were selected last week
by a committee that included
past award recipients and cor
porate sponsors of the event.
The awards will be handed out
March 10 during a banquet at
the Adam's Mark Winston
Plaza.
Martin was cited for his
work at Winston-Salem State
over the last year. He came to
the university at a time when
less than glowing audits had put
the school
in a negative
light. Under
Martin.
W S S U
received its
first clean
audit in
years and
the universi
ty enjoys a
stroii g e r
relationship Hymes ^
with the.
community that surrounds it.
Hymes' accomplishments
Si r Winners on A4
Brown wants to fill
murdered sheriff's shoes
BYT KEVIN WALKER
llll (TIRONK 1 I
These days Thomas Brown
doesn't go anywhere alone.
Armed guards watch over his
home and chaufTeur him to and
from work.
It's the price, he said, he is
more than willing to pay for
assuming the leadership of one of
the most talked about sheriffs
departments in the country.
The last man who was elected
sheriff of DeKalb County. Ga.
just outside of Atlanta was
gunned down in the driveway of
his home, weeks before he was to
be sworn in. Many believe Sheriff
elect Derwin Brown, no relation
to Thomas Brown, was murdered
because of the sweeping reforms
-he planned to implement at the
jail and throughout the depart
ment.
No suspects have been named
in the November shooting,
although talk has centered
around prominent people associ
aled with the department.
Enter Thomas Brown. He was
asked to act as interim sheriff last
month. He agreed, leaving behind
his position as director of public
safety lor the
county, a
position that
put hint in
charge of a
$100 million
budget and
several coun
ty depart
m e n t s ,
including
police and
if re.
Thomas Brown has imple
mented many of the dead sheriff
eleet's reforms in the last 30 days,
including firing many of the peo
ple that Derwin Brown intended
to let go.
Thomas Brown now wants the
word interim axed from his title:
he is running in the March 20
election to keep the job against a
See Brown <? A4
Brown
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