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. 54 1V020J iV 1N STO N ? S A I. K M ? (1KI I NSBOKO ? Hk.H Poin 'fom this library Vol. XXIX No 46
K C ROOM
~ FORSYTH CNTY PUB LIB HHHMfRWViHWVlWlKVWlHH
? 660 W 5TH ST # 0 ?? ^?HMltljiiyiUiWlliifi^A ?
WINSTON SALEM N<
lOUtlg
- leading
the young
* ?
Photo by Kev in Walker
Terrill Shepherd, on
piano, and Albert
Strong were among
those who shared
their love for the arts
with children during
the Mt. Zion Baptist
Church Summer Arts
Camp. To read more
about the innovative
camp, see page A10.
Crime spirals in Forsyth
County crime rate
dip is biggest in state
over the last 10 years
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Local officials are crediting a
strong working relationship
between crime-fighting agencies
for a drastic reduction in violent
crime in Forsyth County over the
last decade. According to recent
numbers released by the State
Bureau of Investigation, violent
crimes in the county have
dropped by 46 percent since
1994. It is the largest decline for
any urban area in the state.
Violent crimes include mur
der. rape, robbery and aggravated
assault.
Violent crimes in the county
have fallen steadily over the
years. There were about 7.077
violent crimes in the county in
2001. That figure was down by
about 9.4 percent, to 6,412, in
2002. Property crimes were also
down in the
county over I
that period.
?? i .
appears thai (
compared to
the other
cities, we
are doing a |
little hit bet- I
ter (in low- 9
e r i n g
crime)."
said Forsyth County District
Attorney Tom Keith.
Guilford County had a 10.1
percent drop between 2001 and
2002. Less violent crimes were
also reported in Guilford in 2002
(5.836) than Forsyth.
Keith can't attribute the dip to
any one initiative. For the past
several years, the DA's office has
been a part of a multi-agency
effort to fight crime, on many
fronts.
Project ZAP (Zero Armed
Perpetrators), for example,
brings together the DA's office
with the Sheriff's Office and
Police Department each week to
review every gun arrest in the
county.
For the past two years, repre
sentatives from Keith's office
have also joined officials from
the police and sheriff's depart
ments, probation and Winston
Salem State University's Center
for Community Safety on a Vio
lent Crimes Task Force. The task
force identifies problems in
progress and ones that are bub
bling under the surface.
Sylvia Oberle. the executive
director of the Center for Com
munity Safety, said the task
force, which meets every other
See Crime on A4
Oberle
Students
embark on
civil rights
road trip
Wake Forest group will
visit sites in Alabama,
Mississippi and Tennessee
BY COURTNEY GAILLARD
THE CHRONICLE
Jarrett Heard is one of 15
sfudents who will learn first
hand about the social ills
plaguing the Deep South.
Ht?arH a
s e n i o r
premed
and soci
ology
major at
Wake
Forest
Univer
sity. and
his peers
will
travel by
bus this month through five
Southern states to study
Social Stratification in the
American Deep South.
He said he's excited about
t&e chance to learn outside of
th& classroom to spend
? W ill c
time in
the heart
of the
Delta.
"It's
just a
good
opportu
nity to
take a
class
without
staying in a classroom and to
travel." said Heard, who is
from Tennessee. "We're actu
ally going to be able to see
existing stratification in the
Deep South and compare it to
things we've seen in North
Carolina or wherever people
are from. It makes it more
tangible when you can see
something outside of the
classroom."
The course was designed
by Earl Smith, chairman of
the sociology department at
Wake Forest, to give students
a clearer perspective of the
social, economic and political
inequalities in the South.
"The goals of the course
are to show students, via a
live experience, how stratifi
cation unfolds in the Ameri
can South and to show that
See Students on A10 |
Smith
Hattery
mou* ny Rcvin wa*ei
Pastor Bobby Best, center, with ministry members Alan Speas (from left), Adrienne Speas, Carolyn Hampr,
ton and the Rev. Barbara McCollum pose on the steps of St. John CME Church.
On Kire
Church's new ministry
hopes to restore faith
of Christians and others
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
I III CHRONIC! E
The spirit was high last week
end at St. John Christian-Methodist
Episcopal Church - the Holy Spir=?
it. that is.
The church pulled out all the
stops Saturday afternoon to
announce to the city t+ie formation
of its Spiritual Renewal Ministry.
The ministry will strive to reawak
en the godliness in those who have
already professed their Christianity
and reach out to those who have no
relationship with the church.
"What I always tell my congre
gation is that ministry is about
much more than what happens in
these four walls, said St. John Pas- ^
tor Bobby Best. "We want to open u
our doors and be out there for the
community." i
The Spiritual Renewal Ministry 11
will try to achieve its mission by v
helping people to remember their o
spirituality as they cope with the
challenges of day-to-day life. The C
church plans to partner with other s
churches to- stage events where E
people can come and feel free e
exploring and appreciating their
spirituality. 0
Church officials said the new k
ministry was overdue. They said
that even the most devout Christ- F
an sometiiitfes needs to be rejuve
lated. Many at Saturday's event
rore red to symbolize a rekindling
if Christian fires.
"Sometimes in our lives as
'hristians our flames burn down,"
aid Mary Crowell. a member of
immanuel Baptist Church who
mceed Saturday's program.
Sometimes we need to put a log
in (the fire)....God wants us to
eep shining."
Emmanuel - whose step team
lerformed at the kickoff - was not
(he only church thai came to show
its support for St. John s new min
istry. Members of Union Baptist
Church, St. Peters World Outreach
Center and St. Stephen Missionary
Baptist Church were also on hand
to perform or simply to show their
support from the audience.
The newly-formed Red Hat
Society of Davidson County made
the celebration a multiracial gath
ering. The society., which has a
largely white membership, is
See Ministry on A9 |
1 ember of the Red Hat Society of Davidson County show off their
nique hats and dresses during a fashion show.
Photos courtesy of Yctta Young Productions
Actors Shonnese Coleman (right) and Gilbert
Glenn Brown in a scene from "Miss Evers' Boys."
Play recalls
shameful
1930s event
'Miss Evers'Boys' will come to the
NBTF from the stages of California
BYT KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICI F
"There are no overnight successes." _
Those are words that Yetta Young lives by. And-*
she should know.
Young has been coming to Wiriston-Salem for
the National Black Theatre Festival since 1995.
sne sal in audiences at
countless plays, took
notes and dreamed.
"I knew that one day I
'wasn't going to be just an
attendee. I knew I would
have my name on the
marquee." Young said
recently by phone from
her home in Los Angeles.
As director and pro
ducer of "Miss Evers'
Boys" - one of this
year's NBTF plays gener
atine a creat deal of buzz
- Young is fulfilling her prophecy.
Written by David Feldshuh, "Miss Evers' Boys"
is based on the infamous Tuskegee Experiment, a
government study in the 1930s and 1940s that
involved withholding needed treatment for black
men in Alabama afflicted with syphilis. Although
the play is a fictionalized account of events that
took place as part of the experiment, it is deeply
rooted in fact. The lead character. Eunice Evers. is
based on Eunice Rivers, the African-American
nurse who worked under the two doctors that
administered the experiment.
Young said she was drawn to the play by its his
torical roots.
"I was just amazed. 1 was not really aware
about all of this history." she said.
Young was commissioned to direct the play
after winning over audiences and critics for her
direction and production of an African-American
Sec Miss Evers' Boys' on A10
Young
The Only Choice for African-American and C^SSBWSXESKBSSKM