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75 cents WINSTON-SALEM GREENSBORO HlCH POINT Vol. XXVII No. 47
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festivals
reaching
out to
blacks
BY MELDE RUTLEDGE
THE CHRONICLE
Chamber music is more common
than many people may think, and in
Winston-Salem, its mellow tunes will
be celebrated next month.
A ISO
culled
Baroque
music, cham
ber music is
becoming
more popular
among the
ethnic masses.
"E pluribus
u n u m "
("From many,
one") is a
theme most
appropriate for the Foothills Chamber
Music Festival's fifth anniversary,
from Aug. 6-25.
"Music is a vital part of every
body's culture," said Rev. James
Sloan of Goler Metropolitan AME
Zion Church in East Winston. "One
author said that music is the language
of the soul."
Sloan's church will sponsor a free
storytelling musical for preschoolers
and elementary students on Aug. 9 as
part of the three-week gala. Bob
Moyer and Jennifer I aimer of the
United Stage will re-create tales from
Native American and African cultures
with the help of Foothills musicians.
"Our church has always been a
church that has had a keen interest in
music and making sure that kids have
an opportunity to share and partici
pate."
He favors the festival because it
gives a sense of community and pro
vides a learning experience, especially
for children.
"What better way to do that than
through a music festival?"
Chamber music was originally
written for small ensembles of up to
20 players - intended for home listen
ing. The melody is comprised almost
always of string instruments. For dif
ferent effects, chamber orchestras
don't use woodwinds or brass.
Instead, they use different bow strokes
(siicn as col legno. wnicnis trouncing
tne stick on the strings).
Chamber orchestras also require
strong players, because even one per
son making a mistake is likely to be
heard. Each person' must be able to
hqld his or her own and be able to
know each other better than in a larg
ct orchestra. In the movie "Titanic,"
.S,v Chamber music mi A2
Cue
I Black farmers uneasy about merger
Wagner International Photo
L.M. Baker (left), chairman and CEO of Wachovia Corp., and G.
Kennedy Thompson, chairman and CEO of First Union Corp.,
announce merger plans in New York in April.
Group fears blacks and the poor will not reap better
service if banking giants First Union and Wachovia become one
BY SHERIDAN HILL
THE CHRONICLE
Black fanners are airing their con
cerns about the proposed $14.4 billion
merger between First Union and
Wachovia, questioning the closing of
branches in rural and low-income
areas, and the availability of loans to
African Americans living in rural
areas.
Both the National Black Farmers
Association and the Black Farmers
and Agriculturalists Association have
raised concerns.
Weeks ago, the 60,000-member
National Black Farmers Association
filed a complaint with the Federal
Reserve Bank and protested in Wash
ington to try to persuade Chairman
Alan Greenspan to hold public hear
ings before any merger deal gains final
regulatory approval.
"We want to see a commitment
amending the terms of the merger
application to increase lending to
African-American farmers and small
business owners," said John Boyd,
president of the association.
On July 13, executives from First
Union and Wachovia met w ith repre
sentatives from the Black Farmers and
Agriculturalists Association, who said
they were encouraged with the banks'
response to their concerns. The group
represents black farmers in 22 South
em states.
The meeting was called at the
bunks' request and was held in
Durham. "They met us halfway," said
Gary Grant, president of the national
Black Farmers and Agriculturalists.
Black Farmers and Agriculturalists
asked that the new Wachovia establish
stale and regional offices with officers
experienced in dealing with fanners.
Grant, who owns and operates a
farm near Halifax. N.C.. said, "We
came with a list of concerns about
what we feel needs to he addressed as
this nterger takes place. We want to
know that the black community and
other poor communities will be prop
erly serv iced in areas where banks will
be closed, and we are concerned about
lending policies for farmers, particu
Svr Merger <m A3
Salsa 101
Photo by Kevin Walker
Angel Rodriguez and his dance partner, Vanessa Rodriguez, lead a
salsa and merengue lesson at the Lanterns of Hope Multicultural Festi
val, which was held last weekend at Salem Lake. The annual event cel
ebrates the beauty and wonder of all the different races and cultures
in Forsyth County. For more pictures of the event, see page A12.
Black businesses
give $7,500 to help
2001 theater festival
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE '
Larry Leon Hamlin does not have
a genie, but a wish he made recently
did just come true.
Hamlin told The Chronicle last
week that he wanted local blacks to
show more support for his National
Black Theatre Festival, which will
begin Monday.
Hamlin complained that African
Americans could do more to show
that they appreciate the cultural signif
icance of the one-of-a-kind festival,
especially this festival season because
Hamlin has struggled to find all the
funds he needs to stage the week-long
event.
Hamlin's words did not go
unheard. The East Area Council, a
wing of the Chamber of Commerce
made up of African-American busi
ness owners, presented Hamlin with a
donation of $7,500 Monday to help
cover the cost of this year's festival.
The money is the only funds that
the NBTF will receive from any
chamber group this festival season.
Last year, the Greater Winston-Salem
See NBTF on A4
Mose Be/ton Brown presents
Larry Leon Hamlin with a check
for $7,500 Monday morning.
The Sell
Superintendent tells Roundtable that bonds
have a lot to offer to the black community
Schools Superintendent Don Mar
tin speaks at a regular meeting
of the Black Leadership Round
table last week.
BY T KF.VIN WALKER
TMOiMWCLE . '
What a difference three months
and the promise of a brand-spanking
new high school in East Winston
have made.
When school system officials met
with the Black Leadership Round
table during a public forum in late
March held by the grassroots advoca
cy group, they were trying to win
support for a bond package that
Forsyth County residents will vote up
or dow n in November.
But many in the crowd that
evening were not buying what school
administrators were trying to sell,
essentially asking school officials,
"What have you done for us lately?"
Schools Superintendent Don
Martin's visit to a Roundtable meet
ing last week was much better
received, now that the City-County
School Board has decided to include
plans for a new high school in a pre
dominantly black community.
Early in the bond discussion,
some School Board members argued
that a new high school was not need
ed in the inner city because popula
SVi' Bonds >m AS
Church bridging language barrier
Program teaches Spanish to
English speakers, vice versa
Photo hy Melde Rut ledge
Olivia Ferrelli teaches English to Spanish speakers.
BY MELDE RUTLEDGE
THE CHRONICLE
Leaving home to come to an
unknown land can be an over
whelming experience, especially
when there's a language barrier.
The simplest things, such as
going to the bank or buying gas,
can turn out to be the hardest of
tasks.
To address this rising dilemma
among the Hispanic community in
Winston-Salem, Green Street
United Methodist Church started
a program to help them communi
cate.
The program is about a month
old and is designed to assist His
panics by teaching (hem an ade
quate amount of English, enough
for everyday interaction among
other English speakers. The pro
gram also teaches Spanish so that
English speakers can interact bet
ter with Hispanics.
Every Sunday, the groups meet
at the church from 3 p.m. to 5
p.m.
A usual session starts with a
period of pronunciations and
spellings. At the end of each ses
sion. the English and the Spanish
groups meet with each other to
discuss what they have learned.
"I don't even really care about
Si i Classes an A4
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