Tuskegee Airman Vernon Haywood.
Blacks prominent in
state aviation exhibit
CHRONICLE S I Al l REPOR'I
To celebrate the 100th
anniversary of Orville and Wilbur
Wright's historic flight at Kitty
Hawk, the N.C. Museum of His
tory will open an exhibit Tuesday
celebrating the first century of
flight.
"Pio
neers of
Aviation"
tells the
stories of
Tar Heel
natives
who made
their mark
in the avi
a t i o n
world.
More than 150 artifacts, photo
graphs and videos bring their sto
ries - many of which are "firsts"
in aviation - to life.
Included in the exhibit are
tales of North Carolinians who
were Tuskegee Airmen, the first
all-African-American military
flying unit, which led to the full
integration of the military in 1948.
The Tuskegee Airmen included
Raleigh's Vemon Haywood, one
of the first blacks to fly jet aircraft.
Haywood served as a Tuskegee
Airman in the European theater
during World War II. He was also
one of the first African-Americans
jet instructors.
Ronald E. McNair, who
attended N.C. A&T State Univer
sity. also is featured in the exhibit.
McNair was one of the NASA
astronauts aboard the space shut
tle Challenger when it exploded
on Jan. 28, 1986.
The story of Thomas H.
Davis, a Winston-Salem native
who founded Piedmont Airlines,
also is told in "Pioneers of Avia
tion." Piedmont Airlines became
the state's most successful home
based passenger airline.
Oct. 4, the N.C. Museum of
History, located in Raleigh, will
feature the topic "Fighting for
Change: Military Service and
Civil Rights" during its 2004
Symposium on Civil Rights. The
program will focus on the struggle
of African-Americans and Ameri
can Indians who entered the mili
tary after President Harry S. Tru
man's executive order calling for
desegregation. Special guests
include Wilson V. Eagleson, a for
mer Tuskegee Airman and mem
ber of the 99th Pursuit Squadron,
and William Weathersbee, a
member of the 555th Parachute
Infantry Battalion and the Second
Ranger Infantry Company- Air
borne.
"Pioneers of Aviation" will be
on display through 2005. The
exhibit is free and open to the pub
lic.
For more information of the
exhibit, log onto the museum's
Web site, http://ncmuseumofhisto
ry.org.
McNair
Musical
from page A1
to absorb every vocal nuance
and stage performance detail.
"The audience is going to
think they are listening to the
actual groups because we did not
want (the actors) to interpret
what they think the person
should sound like. We wanted
them to sound just like the per
formers."
Ngina James said the results
have been well worth the chal
lenge she faced of trying to
mimic the pure innocence in the
voice of Shirley Owens, the lead
singer of The Shirelles. whose
hits included "Will You Still
Love Me Tomorrow?" and "Sol
to make memorable music.
"When 1 learn a song, I feel
like 1 am learning a part of that
person," she said.
John Steven Crowley knows
much of the music in "Doo Wop
Shoo Bop" like the back of his
hand. One of the oldest members
of the cast, the silky-voiced
Crowley grew up in the 1950s
and '60s.
"This is the music my par
ents would sit and listen to," he
said.
Crowley also wears many
hats in the production. He plays
Tony Williams, the lead singer of
The Platters, a member of the
Mills Brothers and several other
vocal heavyweights. Crowley
has the voice to pull it off. He
grew up singing gospel, which
time of pure innocence in Amer
ica."
Doo wop music also helped
to bridge racial gaps in its day. as
white teenagers, for the first
time, wholeheartedly began to
embrace music performed by
black artists. A bit of that history
is addressed in the musical. Tay
lor likes to call her productions
"edu-tainment" because they
entertain as well as educate. But
the entertainment is most impor
tant, she pointed out.
"We try to sneak some edu
cation in there because most
people don't like to be educat
ed," she said.
There are many subthemes in
the production. For example,
some of the black artists had to
II
contend with white artists
remaking their songs to great
success and most did not receive
just compensation for their
work. But the main moral, said
Taylor, is that iViusic is universal,
and good music is timeless.
"Music is the one thing that
we all have in common. It breaks
down barriers. It transcends all
races and colors,"' Taylor said.
Doo Wop Shoo Bop will be
staged Aug. 5-8 at the R.J.
Reynolds High School Auditori
um. Shows each night will be at
8 p.m. On Aug. 9 the show will
be staged at both 3 p.m. and 8
p.m. Tickets are $35. For tickets,
call 723-7907 or log onto
www.nbtf.org.
Actors as The Five Satins.
dier Boy."
"The biggest compliment is
when people come up to me and
say, 'You sound like the real
thing," said James, who caught
the acting bug after getting
burned out in her public relations
job. James also plays The Plat
ters' Zola Taylor and other char
acters in the musical.
James is only 28, so much of
the music she performs on stage
was foreign to her when she won
a spot in the cast. She said she is
now a fan of the doo wop era and
is enamored by the artists who
scaled many mountains in order
Photo courtesy of the Black Ensemble Theatre
has given him the foundation to
perform a variety of musical
styles, from jazz to opera.
"Harmony is harmony,"
Crowley said, after declaring his
love for all kinds of music. But
doo wop music has a special
effect on audiences, he said. He
remembers performing "Doo
Wop Shoo Bop" before a nearly
white audience and seeing
grown men. in tears as songs
from their past were performed.
"This music is like the
soundtracks of so many people's
lives," Crowley said. "It is a trip
down memory lane. It was a
?
M&F continues intern program
to help prospective black bankers
T$'o WSSU students
have benefited from0
program so far
BY COURTNEY GA1LLARD
nil ( HRONK l l
Marque* Jthnson is known
by many as a numbers man,
and now he can add the title of
M&F Scholar to his reper
toire. Last month. Mechanics
& Farmers Bank named John
son, a senior business man
agement and sports manage
ment major at Winston-Salem
State University, as the 2003
Mechanics & Farmers Bank
Scholar.
Johnson, who is the second
student to receive the scholar
ship, said he is honored to
have the opportunity to be
both intern and scholar
through the program.
"I thought (the internship)
was a great opportunity. I've
seen many of the things that
M&F has done in the commu
nity, such as on-campus M&F
Day, programs with area
churches, and I have noticed
the relationship the bank has
had with its customers," said
Johnson, who said he's had a
"knack for numbers" since he
was child.
Originally from Virginia,
Johnson has been living in
Winston-Salem for the last
couple of years with his fami
ly. He is a member of Kappa
Alpha Psi fraternity. When
he's not working at the bank.
Johnson said, he is spending
his time this summer buried in
a calculus book for a summer
school class.
The Mechanics & Farmers
Bank Scholarship and Intern
ship program was established
last year. Undergraduate stu
dents majoring in business or
economics at WSSU with at
least a 310 GPA are eligible for
the program.
Evelyn Acree. vice presi
dent and city executive of
Mechanics & Farmers Bank,
developed the program. She
said the program allows the
bank to invest in the future.
"We felt that (Johnson)
could benefit from the intern
ship as well as the bank could
benefit from his innovative
and creative ideas. He charac
terizes that young market that
we're trying to tap into. He's a
very dynamic young
man....He's gone above and
beyond the call of duly."
Acree said.
According to Acree. John
son is always willing to do
and learn more in an effort to
soak up all that the internship
has to offer hint.
"We're exposing him to all
areas of banking and our call
ing effort," Acree said.
Over the last month. John
son has been learning the day
to-day operations of the local
Mechanics and Farmers
branch located on Martin
Luther King Jr. Drive. From
operating a teller window,
customer service, account
activation, loan consultation
and assisting the branch man
ager, Johnson is being
exposed to the ins and outs of
banking.
"I've really enjoyed learn
ing from the leaders of the
black community," Johnson
said. "They've been an excel
lent example; just learning
from them has been truly
extraordinary. I've learned so
much about banking, and most
of all. I've learned about peo
ple and how to develop a good
rapport with customers."
Johnson dreams of one day
becoming a financial consult
ant to a professional sports
team. His love of sports and
business is what encouraged
him to earn a degree in both
fields.
"Some of the experience
you get at Mechanics & Farm
ers you can't learn in the
classroom. That's why I
encourage my friends to get
hands-on experience." John
son said.
Johnson will graduate
from WSSU in the spring and
plans to purse an MBA in
banking or financial invest
ment.
Photo by Courtney Gaillani
Marques Johnson, a WSSU senior, is this year's M&F Scholar.
Liberia
from page A 2
forces to Liberia - has indicated
it won't make a decision until
west African troops are on the
ground and the situation can be
better assessed.
Monrovia has become over
run with thousands of refugees
who have fled three recent
attacks on the city. Aid workers
are warning of a humanitarian
disaster as food stores dwindle
and disease festers amid heavy
fighting in parts of the city.
Sharpton said his delega
tion's mission is humanitarian
in nature, but he would try and
help ease along the peace nego
tiations that began on June 4 -
the day a U.N.-backed court in
nearby Sierra Leone indicted
Taylor on war crimes for his
role in supporting a rebel
group's terror campaign in that
country.
Sharpton said he wouldn't
choose sides in the conflict,
which has raged since insur
gents took up arms against Tay
lor in 1999, adding "wherever
we can help the peace process,
we will."
"The side that doesn't want
to see the continual murders and
pain and starvation in Liberia is
the side that will ultimately win
the trust of the people." Sharp
ton said.
Taylor, a former warlord
elected president in 1997,
launched Liberia's unrest in
1989 with his own insurgency.
Sharpton also was accompa
nied by the Rev. Al Sampson of
Chicago; attorney Lewis Mey
ers; and Akbar Muhammad,
Islam expert and Africana stud
ies professor at New York's
Binghamton University.
_ ***** m w* v
STUDENTS ? LEARNING ?^CHUOlOG*
Now is the time to apply
for Fall Semester 20Q3.
High demand programs and courses fill quickly.
The first day of classes is August 22.
Financial aid is available. V/
W ^ EDUCATION THAT WORKS .
ForsythTeCh
%y COMMUNITY COLLEGE
www.forsythtech.edu
(336) 734-7253 ? admlsssions@forsyth.cc.nc.us
j,