Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Dec. 27, 2001, edition 1 / Page 5
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2001 'frtm page A4 sentatives at City Hall who under stand that we care about the future lor families and our neighbors," he said. In November, Besse upset incumbent Steve Whiton. July The days heated up, as did a brewing battle between the oldest and most respected civil rights group in the nation and a luxury hotel chain. The NAACP announced that it was again boy cotting the Adam's Mark hotel chain for what the civil rights group called a pattern of discrimi nation against black guests. The NAACP hud first boycotted the chain in 1W9 but halted the boy cott after the Adam's Mark vowed to settle lawsuits brought against it by black customers. The announcement of the boycott came as Larry Leon Ham lin was putting the final touches on the 2001 National Black The atre Festival. The biennial festival uses the Winston-Salem Adam's Mark as its main hub for after-show events. The hotel is also where many of the famous names that attend the festival stay. Hamlin said the boycott came at a bad time but he said he understood that the NAACP had to do what it had to do. "1 don't want to belittle the boycott. But unless somebody gives me money to buy out my contract with (the Adam's Mark) 1 cannot make other arrangements," Hamlin said, stating his reason for not dumping the hotel after the boycott was announced. Hamlin said that some events would be moved as a form of protest against the hotel. Ground was broken on a long awaited project to build new homes in Happy Hill Garden. The File Photo Chris Peoples shows Min. Mikal Muhammad how deputies beat his friend Nakia Glenn, who nearly died. project is being spearheaded by the Southside Community Devel opment Corp.. in conjunction with several other agencies. More than ,, 50 new homes are expected to be constructed as part of the project. The homes will be made available to low-to-moderate-income fami lies, who will pay from $500 to $700 a month. The prison sentence of an African-American coach and teacher was the talk of the black community. Bobby Curry was sentenced to 35 years in prison for having a sexual relationship with a female student at Forsyth Coun try Day School. Sotjie blacks were outraged because at about the same time, former East Forsyth High School coach and teacher Doug Shields was given just 90 days in jail for not only having sex with a female student but video taping the act and allegedly showing it to his bud dies. Keith D i s - trict Attor ney Tom Keith said the two diverse sentences had nothing to do with race. He said Curry could have gotten a lesser sentence if he had agreed to a plea. Instead, Keith said. Curry rolled the dice. "Because of his arrogance and his attempts to beat the system, he turned down 12 years if he had pleaded guilty." Keith said. Despite Keith's claim, the incident left a bad taste in the mouths of many in the black com munity. Maxwell Christine Banks Crier was laid to rest after 103 years of life. The lifelong educator hail called Winston-Salem home for more than half a century and had remained active and engaged in the community up until her final days. Grier was remembered at her funeral at First Baptist Church as someone who was always involved, whether with the 25th Street community or w ith her sorority. Sigma Gamma Rho.. "Mrs. Grier was always the one who was there to guide us." said friend Evelena Claybom. "I cannot imagine the 25th Street community without the presence of Mrs. Grier." Petitions were being signed all over the city to help WAAA radio get back on the air. The legendary station, which had served the city's black community for half a century, was abruptly shut down earlier in the summer after a dis pute about rent arose between the station's owner. Mutter Evans, and the man who owned the sta tion's building. William Haubrich. An account was also set up at Mechanics and Farmers Bank to generate funds from the public to help the station buy a new site from which to broadcast. Fund raising efforts are ongoing. August The 2(101 National Black The atre Festival was in town and the city was blazing with top-notch entertainment and lively social events. The list of stars attending was long and included Cicily Tyson. Charles Dutton, Sheryl Lee Ralph. Malcolm Jamal Warn er and Ossie Davis. The plays were memorable, especially "My Heart is Crying...Crying." a bio musical about the life of crooner Jackie Wilson. The show played to sold-out crowds nightly at the Stevens Center. There had been fears that some events would have to be canceled because Larry Leon Hamlin, the festival's creator, had a tougher than expected time rais ing money to put on the event. But although all the needed cash was never raised, the shows went on as scheduled. The East Area Council, a wing of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce made up of black bus' nesses, tried to help Hamlin and the festival by giving $7,500 to help cover costs. The group said that because the festival brings so many people to town and creates such a vibrancy in the city, the investment was a sound and wise one. Hamlin also held a pre-festi val fund-raiser to generate cash. The marriage between Wachovia and First Union became official, although the merger did not sit well with some African Americans, who cited that the union would lead to the clos ing of branches in black commu nities and would not guarantee that blacks would have better loan approval rates. Both the National Black Farmers Association and the Black Farmers and Agricultural ists Association raised concents about the $14.4 million merger. A 20-year-black man was beaten to w ithin an inch of life by two sheriffs deputies after he was stopped Aug. 19 off Cleveland Avenue. Nakia Glenn was in criti cal condition and in a coma, and his relatives and residents in the community were outraged. The Sheriff's Department claimed that Glenn showed some resistance and tried to swallow a bag of cocaine. Witnesses told a different File Photo Wachovia head Bud Baker speaks at the Benton Convention Center the day shareholders approved the First Union deal. stef). "ne thai involved the offi cers healing Glenn with iheir flashlights without provocation. Mayor Jack Cuvanagh waited until the last possible moment to announce his intentions to run for re-election. During a City Hall news conference. Cavanagh laid out the themes that he would use throughout his bid for a second term. He said that his would-be opponent. Allen Joines. was a political puppet whose strings are pulled by big business executives. "He walks around with a bunch of little strings all around him." Cavanagh said. Throughout the two months until the Novem ber election. Cavanagh would repeat that claim about Joines. NAACP chapters around the country staged demon strations outside of Adam's Mark hotels as part of the civil rights Alston group s boycott of the hotels. About 40 people took part in the protest in Winston-Salem, including Bill Tatum, president of the city's chapter, and state NAACP President Skip Alston. The protesters surrounded the downtown hotel, chanting slogans such as "Adam's Mark missed the Mark.'' The hotel countered the demonstration by hanging signs in windows that read. "The Adam's Mark supports community friend ship." Alston vowed that protests would continue at the hotel until the chain made a good faith effort to settle discrimination claims ^brought against the chain b)( African Americans. "Until the Adam's Mark offers concrete remedies by negotiating in good faith to settle our com plaints. the NAACP will continue direct action," Alston said. September Many thought the world was coming to an end the morning of Sept. 11 as hijacked airliners were crashed into the World Trade Cen ter. the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. Office television sets were turned to news pro grams. and workers here and around the country were glued to TV sets. Winston-Salem, like many American cities, got over its shock and moved into action. The local Red Cross had to turn away peo ple wanting to give blood at one point because the response was so overwhelming. Many also gave money and donated items such as food and clothes to help those affected by the terrorist attacks. The sanctuaries of local churches filled quickly in the aftermath of the attacks as locals searched for answers and l<x>ked for reassur ance and guidance. The Rev. Seth O. Lartey of Goler Memorial AME Zion Church added several services to accommodate the throng. "People have been hurting and many have very mixed feelings." Lartey said the day after the attacks. Hundreds packed First Baptist Church to say goodbye to CJark S. Brown Sr. The well-known funer al home director died Sept. 5 at the age of 90. Brown, a native of Roanoke. Va., came to Winston Salem in 1930 and soon started Clark S. Brown and Sons Funeral Home. He gained a reputation for doing quality work for reasonable prices, and his ability to comfort families during their time of loss became legendary. Brown was a member of sev eral groups and associations, including the Prince Hall Masons and his fraternity. Omega Psi Phi. He also made local history by becoming the first black member of thd Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce. Brown is survived by his wife of 64 years. Macie; a son, Clark S. Brown Jr.; and several other rela tives. There was a sunset on the pay day lending industry, but it did not ride off into the sunset. State leg islators let a bill expire that had made it possible for the short-term loan industry to operate. The industry had coine under lire from consumer advocate groups that claimed that the industry preyed on the poor and charged outra geous interest rates for loans that were paid back in less than two weeks. Local legislators We iv con cerned about the industry as well, especially Slate Rep. Pete Old ham. w ho stated several times that he was not a fan of payday lend ing. "I am opposed to the industry. I believe it exploits poor people." Oldham said. The sunset did little, however, to eliminate the industry. Many just aligned themselves with national banks to circumvent state law. LIFT Academy had finally come to the end of the road. Alter being in the headlines for two years for its fight against the state to keep its doors open, the court handed LIFT a damaging blow by giving the state the right to revoke LIFT's charter, cutting the school off from hundreds of thousands of dollars in state funds. Without the money. LIFT sim ply could I?^ 1 not ?per ate. said Ear 1 i ne Parmon, t h e school's executive director, in a last ditch effort to Harmon save LIFT. which Parmon founded more than 15 years ago to help educate expelled children, school officials went to a meeting of the city county Board of Education and asked that the school system con tract with LIFT to educate the more than 100 students on LIFT's roster at the time. But LIFT sup porters left the meeting upset after the board made it clear that it would not accept the proposal as it was written. LIFT students who were eligi ble to return to regular schools did so. Parmon still could work out a deal with the school system to educate the students who are not eligible to return to jregular schools. An African-American Repub lican mayoral candidate made an impressive showing in the pri mary election. Businessman Ted Evans, in his first campaign, gar nered 34 percent of the vote in a primary that pitted him against incumbent Jack Cavanagh and Republican A1 Abdo. The strong showing by the political newcom er would be a sign of what was to come for Cavanagh. who won the primary by 57 percent of the vote. Allen Joines easily won the Democratic primary for mayor. October The Forsyth County Library opened a new computer lab and vowed to use the facility to help bridge the digital divide - the gap in technology know-how between whites and minorities. The I,(XX) square-foot lab is equipped with 12 work stations and was made possible by sever al grants, including a $43,257 gift from I the Bill L & Melin da Gates Foundation. Martin Battle lines were drawn in the school bonds debate, with the Black Leadership Roundtable and the Winston-Salem Urban League supporting the package and the Ministers Conference of Winston Salem and Vicinity and the city's NAACP chapter opposing it. The organizations that sup ported the bond said that they would improve technology and make schools more suitable for learning. The groups were also pleased (vith the decision to include plans for a new school in East Winston in the package and more than.$7 million in renova tions for Carver High School. The groups against the pack age said it would further segregate the school system, which has had an increase in one-race schools since a redistricting plan was start ed several years ago. Opponents of the bonds also said that too much money was being put into bricks and mortar at a time when black students were not keeping up with their white counterparts. Although black leaders in the groups claimed that it w as healthy that the groups disagreed on the issue, some of the alley-fight tech niques used during the debate were criticized. The installation ceremony File Photo Actress/singer Sheryl Lee Ralph arrives for the Opening Night Gala for the 2001 National Black Theatre Festival. was held for WSSU Chancellor Harold Marlin, drawing several chancellors from other UNC schools as well as throngs of alumni, students and city leaders. Martin was praised for the work he already had done at the university and the work that he will do. He vowed not to disap point those who believe in him. "We will embrace the winds of change....This university must and w ill step forward," he said. November It was a landslide victory for mayoral candidate Allen Joines in the general election. He won every precinct in the city, garner ing 78 percent of the vote. Incum bents had an easy time as well. Incumbent aldermen Vivian Burke. Joycelyn Johnson. Wanda Merschel. Fred Terry and Nelson Malloy won by comfortable mar gins. That was not so for incum bent Alderman Vernon Robinson, however, who beat Democratic challenger Marlowe Foster by about 130 votes. A few days before the pri mary, Foster had filed a complaint against Robinson with the Forsyth County Board of Elections, claim ing that Robinson or one of his supporters called voters pretend ing to be Foster. The fake caller told at least one registered voter in the South Ward that Foster would raise taxes to help pay for down town nightclubs, according to Foster's complaint. The county's Board of Elections said it had no jurisdiction over the matter and advised Foster to file his com plaint With the state board. The much-debated school bond package passed easily. Elizabeth Dole made her first trip to the city since announcing that she would run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Jesse Helms next year. Dole was among the women honored by the Women's Resource Center at Forsyth Technical Community College. The other women hon ored for blazing trails were Annie Brown Kennedy and Ruth Easter ling. More than 2(X) people showed up at the Pine Brook Country Club for the first annual awards event. Dole didn't talk politics directly but called for a greater focus on community col leges because of their unique place in the educational system. "To help people learn new skills, there is no substitute for the community college," she said. The city broke ground on the much-touted new and improved Fourth Street. Plans call for changing the street design so that sidewalk dining and more attrac tive shops can be added. The new Fourth Street is part of a grand design for downtown, which was laid out to city residents at a forum held at the Benton Convention Center. Residents learned that the facelift for Fourth is merely the first phase of what is promised to be a new look and attitude for the heart of the city. Goler Memorial AME Zion Church held its first Winston Salem State University Day and presented a check to the universi ty's chancellor for a $10,000 endowment. The church said it wanted to show its support for the university and the students who attend. The church says it hopes to increase the endowment in the future to $50,000. Diggs Elementary School par ents felt out of the loop on a plan to possibly house an arts-based charter school at Diggs. The school would be housed at Diggs, a school with an arts-based cur riculum and a nearly 100 percent African-American student body. School officials will hold a series of meetings w ith the parents to try to address their concerns. Some parents do not like the idea of Diggs and charter school men tioned in the same sentence; oth ers are open to the idea and the educational advantages it could bring. Parents and the school sys tem are still discussing the possi bility. In the midst of American-led bombings in Afghanistan, a group of mostly people affiliated with Wake Forest University took to the streets of downtown for a silent protest march against the war against terrorism. With peace pioneers such as Mohandas Gand hi and Martin Luther King Jr. foremost in their minds, the group marched up Fourth Street and down Liberty Street to Corpening Plaza, where several marchers spoke about why they were advo cating peace. Among those who spoke and marched was the Rev. John Mendez, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church. "(The war) undermines the sacredness of human life," he said. December Some questioned if the school system will spend some of the $150 million of bond money with black contractors. County Com missioner Walter Marshall said he suggested to schintls Superinten dent Don Martin that the system hire Raleigh based The Freelon Group, which is black Don Martin owned, to do some of the ren ovations or new construction. Martin said that race will not be a factor used to decide who gets contracts. Price and quality will be overriding factors. Martin said. The company Marshall suggested was turned dow p because its bid was not the lowest. The Adam's Mark settled its longstanding fued with the NAACP by agreeing to a finan cial sum. The city was stunned to hear about the death of E. ferry Jones, a local golfing legend. Gayle Anderson, president of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, delivered a pre- 1 Christmas surprise to the East Area Council: the group will be no more. It will be replaced by a Minority Business Council that will reach out to not only black owned businesses but those owned by Hispanics and Asians as well. Members of the EAC, which for years had been a subgroup df the chamber for black business owners, said that the news was a bombshell and that Anderson never let them know that it was coming. Some believed the group's undoing was directly related to the donation the group made to the National Black The atre Festival in July. The chamber had cut out the practice of giving money to such events. Stay tuned.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Dec. 27, 2001, edition 1
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