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33 031005 "FIRM* * * * 5-DIGIT 27101
; ADMINSTRATION ' ? ? ? -
_ FORSYTH COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY hi O "RATING 30 YEARS Oh ('m,vtI v .
? 660 W 5TH ST ' COMMUNITY JOURNALISM
WINSTON SALEM NC 27101-1300 -
Vol. XXX No. 38
Boxers
hope to
make
marks
- See Page Bl
Millions
goto
Bennett
College
- See Page A8
Urban
League
honors
seniors
- See Page A3
Miss N.C.
Latina
crowned
in the city
-See Page CI
Student
defies
odds to
graduate
BY COURTNEY GA1LLARD
THE CHRONICLE
Anyone at Forsyth Vocation
al High School will tell you that
Tenisha Watkins is a special girl
wilh a kind spirit. Some might
say that being mentally disabled
means facing a lifetime of chal
lenges and obstacles. But the
straight A student who is senior
class president has proven to be
anything but challenged.
Spend a few minutes with
the shy
19-year
old and
her big
smile
will
prove
why she
is so
loved by
friends
Watkins and fac
ulty at
school.
"I like being around babies.
There's one student who always
runs to me and hugs me every
time she sees me," said Watkins,
who has developed a reputation
for being one of the most helpful
students.
On Saturday, she will
receive an occupational diploma
- something many people
including her family didn't
believe she could obtain. She
has even been selected to intro
duce the graduation speaker,
Winston-Salem Fire Chief John
Gist.
"I've liked the teachers and I
hive , a lot of friends who go
here. " said Watkins, about what
she'll miss about high school.
Even though some people
lacked faith in her, she says she
loves them all the same.
Watkins lives with her aunt,
Phyllis Searcy, who happens to
be a teacher's assistant at
Forsyth Vocational. Searcy
became her guardian in 2(XX)
after Watkins dealt with the loss
of several relatives, including
her mother. She says that her
Sec Watkins on A9
Photos by Kevin Walker I
Black Achievers Gala Chairwoman Barbara Hayes and program coordinator Curtis Hunter present Louise Smith
with a Lifetime Achievement Award during the gala celebration last week.
OverAchievers
Y program sends
off its latest batch
of young people
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
It has been several years
now since Regina Watkins Brim
took it upon herself to become
an unofficial recruiter for the
Winston Lake Family YMCA's
Black Achievers program.
There is hardly a day that
goes by that Brim doesn't find
herself promoting the program
to teenagers she comes into
contact with. Last Thursday,
Brim brought three teenagers
that she had sold on the pro
gram to the Seventh Annual
Black Achievers in Business
and Industry Awards Gala at the
M.C. Benton Convention Cen
Sc. Achievers on A10
Regina Watkins Brim introduces Jared Paige to the Y's Richard Daniels before
last week's gala.
NAACP,
Tom Keith
meet in
the middle
Two sides have openly
disagreed on many issues
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE . '
One is a white conservative district attorney
whose tough stance on crime is applauded in some
circles and deplored in others. The other is a black
police sergeant-tumed
NAACP chapter president
who often says that the
criminal justice system is
especially hostile to
African-Americans. They
have had more than their
share of differences in the
past, but now the two have
agreed to a verbal pact to
jointly fight crime in the
Though it sounds like
the plot to a lame television crime drama, it is for
real. Stephen Hairston, the still fairly new presi
dent of ihtfaty's chapter of the NAACP, says that
his ortice wants to pay
more attention to the con
cerns of victims of crimes
and focus less on concerns
of those who commit
crimes. Hairston's office is
inundated with letters from
incarcerated people and
those facing court dates. In
the past, the chapter has
tried to respond to those
concerns to the best of its
ability. Bui oftentimes, the
stories of those affected by the crimes that those
people commit go unheard. That is what Hairston
wants to change. Hairston said his office will begin
to work with black victims of crimes by, among
other things, helping them communicate their con
cerns to the office of District Attorney Tom Keith.
Hairston said the NAACP will also start "hitting
the streets" to try to save young people on the edge
of falling into the criminal justice system.
Hairston said the NAACP will offer these
young people alternatives. The NAACP has talked
with Forsyth Technicat Community College about
offering skills training and to some local contrac
tors about possibly/hiring some of these young
people. It is a newitougher stance on crime from
the NAACP. Hairsw^n said those who refuse to
See NAACP on AlO
Call her Dr. Brown
WFIJ Photo
Geneva B. Brown, longtime educator and current school
board member, is hooded by Professor Ed Hendricks
Monday. Brown received an honorary doctor of human
ities degree during Wake Forest's commencement
address. To read about the event, see page A4.
Black RV'ers roll into town
BY T KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE ?
The nation's miles and miles of open road
and highways are as synonymous with free
dom as the bald eagle. Nobody knows that
more than the men and women who have
abandoned the worries and frustrations of
everyday living for a life on the road in
recreation vehicles (RVs) that have all the
comforts of home.
,"lR,Vs) ijre fr.efdpiji," sajd Meredith And
ing. "You could be here today. I can be some
where completely different tomorrow and
somewhere eJse after that."
Anding and members of the New York
Ravens, an RV club that Anding heads, were
among about 400 black RV enthusiasts in
town last weekend for the National African
American RVers Association Eastern
Region's sixth annual Camp Rally held at the
Dixie Classic Fair Grounds. RV owners
drove their vehicles from places as far away
as Maine and f>Jew Hampshire for the rally
for three days of cookouts, dances and even
See RV'er$ on A4
hrave__
Pholo by Kevin Walker
RV lovers from New York chat during the rally here ov?r the weekend.
In Grateful Memory of Our
Founders,
Florrie S. Russell and
Carl H. Russell, Sr.
" Growing and Still Dedicated to Serve You Better"
^Russell ffluneral
Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their Support
822 Carl Russell Ave.
(at Martin I^uther King Dr.)
Winston-Salem. NC 27101
(336) 722-3459
Fax (336) 631-8268
rusfhome @ hellsouth.net
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