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H QTHCSIoifsESVICE ' "aa"5T-iOT- ?> ??? ?^ ._ - 0 i "' JSTStfS.?? I lTlA\ For Reference T_j ^ ^nKur>- ->.- jth * 75 conts Winston-Salem ? Greensboro ? High Point from this library Vol. XXIX No. 36 HfflMMi Blacks ponder own fates at conference First-ever State of Black North Carolina Conference attracts diverse group of thinkers Alexander Phot" h> Kevin Walker Richard Williams gets a woman's reaction to his new business magazine. BY T. KEVIN WALKER THE CHRONICLE It was by choice, not chance, that the first-ever State of Black North Carolina Con ference kicked off on a Sunday. Although everything front edu cation to economic develop ment was talked about at the two-day event, it was faith, organizers said, that would be t . h e bridge to link it all together and make the goals discussed at the confer ence real ities. T o that end. the Kev. Claude R. Alexander Jr., pastor of University Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, made a podium his makeshift pulpit at Benton Convention Center as he keynoted the opening cere monies. He told participants, some of whom had come from as far away as Wilmington, that although African-Americans are as politically and ideologi cally diverse as a rainbow, blacks must work together to heal what ails the black com munity. "The challenge is for us to unite together and be as one." he said. "We share a destiny. We share a history." Alexander asked conference participants to not just talk about problems such as unem ployment and underachieve ment. There has been too much talk for far too long, he said. "We don't need another symposium....!It's time for) us to be decisive and urgent." he said. Richard Williams, a local entrepreneur who created and organized the conference, said he designed the event so it would not be just another black issues event. Panelists and par ticipants at each of the 10 ses sions came up with action items and strategies to address the various issues. Williams said those suggestions will be sent to groups such as the General State Baptist Convention of N.C.. the NAACP and Masonic organizations. "Hopefully (th?ise organiza tions) will put these ideas and suggestions on rheir agendas." Williams said. Williams said the dozens of community, civic and political leaders from across the state he assembled to sit on panels were enthusiastic about taking part in such a conference. They includ Sec Conference . .n A10 People sought to probe '70s hate crime Group will try to come up with answers from deadly KKK attack more than 20 years ago BY COURTNEY GAILLARD THE CHRONICLE GREENSBORO - The city of Greensboro is making an attempt to heal wounds inflicted nearly 24 years ago. On Nov. 3, 1979, five leaders of a labor organizing rally and parade were killed and 10 others were wounded in a black neighborhood by members of the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi party. A local task force of about 40 diverse Greens boro residents has decided to uncov er what happened on that tragic day under the direc tion of the Greensboro Truth and Community Reconciliation Project (GTCRP). "The project is a broad com munity-based initiative that seeks to help I Greensboro create a brighter future by earnestly engaging its past specifically in relation to the killings of Nov. 3, 1979," said Carolyn Allen, co-chair of the GTCRP Local Task Force. Allen is a for mer mayor of Greensboro. Several members of the task force met Monday to announce the mandate and the selection process for the Truth and Recon ciliation Commis sion. The mandate will serve as the general frame work that will guide the commis sion's work. A portion of the mandate reads: "This examination is not for the pur pose of exacting revenge or recrim ination. Indeed the Commission will have no such power....We owe it to ourselves and to our future generations to explain what hap pened and why....Nor can there be any genuine healing for the city of Greensboro unless truth surrounding these events is honestly confronted, the suffering fully acknowledged, accountability established and forgiveness and reconciliation facilitated." According to the task force, this is the first attempt of its kind in the country to initiate a process where a commu nity can resolve painful and divi sive aspects of its history in a spirit ot trulh seeking, reconciliation and transformation. The commission will be charged with the task of examining all aspects of the killings. The events of that day along with subsequent court rulings have been sources of tremendous bitterness, divi sion. fear and distrust in Greensboro over the last two decades. The Klansmen and Nazis were twice acquitted of any wrongdoing and then eventually found to be "jointly liable for the wrongful deaths." even though their actions were caught on film by local news crews. Stories of the fatal shootings quickly made national and international headlines. "The confusion about the events and their aftermath persists in the public's conscious even to this good day." said Z. Holler, co-chair of the GTCRP Local Task See Commission on AS Allen Header* Holler Tackling Race Student-organized forum asks how equal are we? BY T. KEVIN WALKER tTHECHKON1CLE The director of the city's Human Relations Commis sion said that a racial relations forum held last week at Mt. Tabor High School was the first of its kind in Forsyth County. Never before. Wanda Allen-Abraha said, had students initiated and organized a discussion about race in a local school. More than 100 Mt. Tabor students, parents and facul ty members assembled in the school's auditorium to hear a diverse panel field a wide array of questions that focused on the state of racial relations inside the school and beyond Mt. Tabor's walls. A large portion of the more than two-hour forum focuscditn the achievement gap between white students and students of color. While more than 85 percent of white students at Mt. Tabor passed the End of Course Sec Forum on A9 'J i Photo b\ Kf v in Walker Mt. Tabor students Walter Martin (from left), Kyle Southern and Rob Stephens are the first local students to organize a racial relations forum at a school in Forsyth County. Local reps like moratorium idea House expected to vote on bill that would halt all executions, in North Carolina for two years CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT State Reps. Earline Par mon and Larry Womble say they will vote for a death penalty moratorium when that legislation works its way through the House of Repre-3 sentatives. The state Senate passed a hill last week that would halt executions in the state for two years so that a legislative committee can probe capital punishment and iron out flaws if necessary. The bill is in committee in the House. Parmon said she will work to get the bill through quickly and encourage her colleagues to vote for the moratorium. Parmon agrees with the notion that capital punishment is racially skewed, largely victimiz i n g blacks who are convict ed of killing whites " f ' think that it is such an impor tanl issue thai we do need to take time and study it." she said. Womble joined about 150 demonstrators Tuesday at the Sc. Moratorium on A5 L Parmon < > Photo h> Kevin Walker While many ran for cover Friday after rain began to pelt the Rock the Block event downtown, Mayor Allen Joines walked up and down Fourth Street telling resi dents that the show would go on as planned when the rain died down. Many did stick around and enjoyed the music, food and enter tainment that was provided at the second Rock the Block.
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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May 8, 2003, edition 1
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