11 Parks-related events
Gordon Park% "At the Poverty Board," 1967
FROM, STAFF REPORTS
The Soulheastern Center
for Contemporary Art
(SECCA) is gearing up for one
of its most eagerly anticipated
exhibits ever. "Half Past
Autumn: The Art of Gordon
i Parks" will kick off tomorrow
with an opening reception at
SECCA. located off Reynolda
Road, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Parks. no.w 88. was scheduled
to make an appearance at the
' reception but SECCA officials
now say that Parks cannot trav
el on the advice of doctors.
The reception is free and
open to the public. Those who
cannot make the reception can
catch the exhibit, which will
feature some of Parks' most
memorable photographs from
over the last half-century, from
Oct. 20 through Jan. 13.
Several screenings of
Parks' films will also be held in
. conjunction with the exhibit.
"The Learning Tree," Parks'
coming-of-age elassic that was
the first major Hollywood film
headed by a black director, will
be screened at The Arts Coun
cil Theatre. 610 Coliseum
Drive, on Saturday at 2 p.m.
General admission is.$9; the
cost for students and seniors is
$7. Dale Pollock, the dean of
the fdm school at N.C. School
of the Arts, will lead a dialogue
uhoul the film after it is shown.
? On Oct. 25 at the NCSA
School of Filmmaking, Parks'
movie "Shaft" w ill be screened
at 7:30 p.m. and at 3 p.m. on
Oct. 28. Admission is $5 for
students and $7 for the general
public.
? "Leadbelly." Parks biopic
of legendary bluesman Huddie
Ledbetter. will be shown Nov.
I at 7:30 p.m. and on Nov. 4 at
3 p.m. The movie will be
shown in SECCA's McChes
ney Scott Dunn Auditorium.
Admission for students and
seniors is $5: admission for the
general public is $7.
? On Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
and on Nov. 18 at 3 p.m..
"Solomon Northup's Odyssey"
will be shown at SECCA.
Made for PBS. the film tells the
true story of a black man born
free and living with his family
in Upstate New York. The
same admission prices apply,
Parks
i Victims of violence speak out
j against capital punishment
: The state leg of the Journey of Hope tour will wrap up at a
mass anti-death-penalty rally in Raleigh this weekend
BY I KhVIN WALKER
! THE CHRONICLE
After his grandmother was
! savagely murdered in the mid
; '80s. Bill Pelke never thought that
? he'd he an opponent of capital
? punishment, let alone leading a
! worldwide effort to halt the pun
; ishment.
But as co-founder and presi
I dent of Journey of Hope, that is
I exactly what he is doing these
; days. Like Pelke. others involved
with Journey of Hope have been
directly affected by violence but
; have transformed their initial out
? rage into a strong passion to do
away with capital punishment.
! The program has made stops at
| colleges, churches, rallies and
' town meetings throughout the
'? United States and several coun
| tries in Europe.
; Tuesday night. Journey of
? Hope came to Wake Forest Uni
; versity as part of a statewide tour
; sponsored by the Carrboro-based
? People of Faith Against the Death
Penalty. Richard Groves, the pas- (
J tor of Wake Forest Baptist
; Church, was instrumental in start
? ing a local chapter of the group
last year.
"Wedo not have to
kilL.When the state kills, they
kill in my name and they kill in
your name," said Pelke. who once
enthusiastically supported the
death sentence given to a 15-year
old girl who stabbed his grand
mother to death. The Gary. Ind..
case gained national and interna
tional headlines at the time
because the girl was one of the
youngest females on death row
ever.
Pelke remembers the day he
changed his mind about capital
punishment. It was Nov. 2, 1986,
after Pelke said he felt that his
grandmother, who was a very reli
gious woman, spoke to him. The
next day. he began corresponding
with his grandmother's killer. His
change of heart gained wide
spread media attention and he
eventually found himself in Italy,
where support against the death
penalty is especially high.
Indignation from Italians and
the Pope led to the girl's sentence
being changed to a 6(>-year jail
term. But Pelke decided that his
fight was not over. He purchased
an old bus. which he named
"Abolitionist Movement." and set
out to speak to the nation about
the inequity of capital punish
ment.
"There are no rich people on
death row. They are poor," Pelke
said, pointing out one of what he
says are many troubling issues
with the punishment.
Pelke believes that he was
driven to support the punishment
at first by the rage he felt over his
grandmother's death. He says he
thinks that is the case with many
people who have lost loved ones
to violence.
"A lot of people want the
death penalty as a way for
revenge," he said, "but there's no
healing in that."
Journey speakers vary from
location to location. Regular
speakers include a man who lost
his daughter in the Oklahoma City
bombing. Tuesday, Pelke was
joined by George White, who was
wrongly convicted of murdering
his wife nearly 20 years ago in
Alabama - even though the
assailant, who has never been
apprehended, shot White several
times as well.
Prosecutors wanted the death
penalty in White's case, but a
judge sentenced him to life in
prison instead. Before his ordeal.
White said he had never really
weighed the death penalty one
way or the other.
"I knew there was a death
penalty, but it was somewhere out
there," motioning with his hands.
"It wasn't really real to me."
White said his strong faith in
God has made him a death penal
ty abolitionist. He admits that
once he detested the prosecutors
who put him behind bars and the
man who killed his wife and shot
him several times. White says he
has moved past those feelings
now.
"I absoRitely oppose the death
penalty for every reason and in
every instance." White said. "I
believe in holding people respon
sible. but that's not the issue."
The state tour for Journey of
Hope will wrap up Saturday in
Raleigh at a convention for the
National Coalition to Abolish the
Death Penalty.
People of Faith Against the
Death Penalty and other abolition
ist groups have been encouraged
by the passage of several morato
rium resolutions by local govern
ments in the state, including one
passed by the Winston-Salem
Board of Aldermen last year.
But Andie Wigodsky of Peo
ple of Faith Against the Death
Penalty says the frustration comes
from the fact that people are still
being put to death even though
people arc talking more than ever
about issues related to capital pun
ishment. such as class and racism.
"All of these different issues
are heing talked about, hut we tire
still executing people." she said.
"We need to stop executions and
talk about these issues.
? Photo by Kevin Walker
'B/// Pelke, holding the microphone, answers a question from
an audience member as George White stands by him.
The Chronicle has
new e-mail addresses
The Chronicle has new e
mail addresses. Press releases,
news items, letters and
columns can be sent to
news@wschronicle.com.
News items and other informa
tion can also be sent directly to
T. Kevin Walker. The Chroni
cle's managing editor, at
kwalker@wschronide.com or
to Paul Collins. The Chroni
cle's copy editor. at
pcyllinsC"?wschronicle.com A
general mailbox is currently
being developed for the adver
tising department. In the
meantime, ads and information
regarding advertising can be
sent to the advertising director,
Fannie Henderson, at fhender
son@wschronicle.com.
The Chronicle's old e-mail
address yvill continue to be
operational for a few more
weeks, but the staff is advising
that readers and advertisers
use the new addresses.
Winnie Mandela to appear
in court for fraud and theft
I III \ss<KTIATEP PRI ss
PRETORIA, South
Africa Winnie Madikizela
Mandela. the controversial ex
wife of former President Nel
son Mandela, is being charged
with fraud and theft involving
nearly 1 million rand
($110,000), investigators said
Monday.
Madiki/ela-Mandela. the
head of the African National
Congress Women's League, is
to appear in court today to face
60 fraud charges and 25
charges of theft, investigators
said, according to the South
African Press Association.
A warrant issued for her
arrest has been suspended
pending the court appearance.
SAPA reported.
The charges stem from a
scam involving the use of
Madikizela-Mandela's signa
ture to fraudulently obtain
bank loans, investigators said.
The total amount obtained
through fraud was 930,000
rand (about $102,000). as well
as about 10.0(H) rand ($1,000)
from theft, investigators said.
Addy MoOlman, a broker
also charged in the case, is
accused of obtaining bank
loans for nonexistent women's
league employees using
Madikizela-Mandela's name
and letterhead.
Madikizela-Mandela was
quoted as telling The City
Press newspaper Sunday that it
was odd she was being
charged because she is the per
son who first
reported the
crime.
She was
quoted as say
ing that the
charges are
part of a cam
paign being
waged against
her by enemies
within the
ANC "to per
petuate what
was started by
the apartheid
regime."
Prosecu
tors did not
return a phone
call from The
Associated
Press seeking
comment
Monday.
M a d i k -
i/ela-Mandela
is expected to
apply for bail 1
Thursday from 1
the Special '
r" ? . i
v. o ni 111 c re i a i
Crime Court in Pretoria.
An anti-apartheid hero.
Madikizela-Mandela is wildly
popular with many poor urban
blacks. However, she is also a
figure of controversy often
criticized by President Thabo
Mbeki and senior ANC offi
cials as a self-promoting
insubordinate whose adminis
trative disinterest has led to
the deterioration of the
women's league.
File Photo
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the ex-wife of
the former South African president, has had
many run-ins with the law.
COME GROW WITH US!
JOIN
N C N W
The National Council of Negro Women, Inc.
Winston-Salem Section
National Headquarters
633 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington. DO
Founder:
Marx McLeod Bet hunt'
Chair and President Fmerita:
Dorothy /. Height
Winston-Salem Section President:
have M. Stewart (.1.16) 719-0162
Understanding iSj
Cr vviiisinn Salmi
Islam
The Winston-Salem Human Relations Commission is sponsoring a
town meeting to help those who would like to know more about Islam
in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.
H /\
Thursday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m.
Board Chamber (Room 530)
City Hall South, 101 E. First St.
Speakers:
? Dr. Charles Kimball. Professor of Religion, Wake Forest
University: "A Historical Perspective"
? Iman Khalid Griggs, Community Mosque of Winston-Salem:
"A Spiritual View of Islam"
? Dr. Katy Harriger, Professor of Political Science, Wake Forest
University: "Civil Liberties and Arab-Americans"
? Anon Abour b Sammy Zitawi: "The Arab-American
Perspective"
o
h 1
11 /City Hall [ * i
| \~South ?
Wingate
Inn <JtPARK
[I L V ?:. EbJ
1-40 BUSINESS
fldZDIIZ]
Parking is available on the
street and in the parking
deck on Church Street
across from City Hall South