THF rWRON F ^ Jl -l-IVVyl ^ * cen1 d6^w%hIL?UB"IC LiBE1. XXXI No. 2 JJj^WINSTON SALEM NC ^VQHj^SjEZ^QQjQBQQSH ?? ' Baseball player swings for the stars - See Page B1 Black execs come to WSSU -See Page A JO Woman sparkles with line of jewels - See Page All Church stages Easter musical -See Page CI Photos by J arson Pin The panel included former Los Angeles prosecutor Chris Dorden (from left) Ed Gordon , Dave Gascon and Norma Johnson. Talk looks at impact of O J. Simpson case Charles Ogletree BYT. KEVIN WALKER THE CHRONICLE GREENSBORO - Chris Dard en said thai everything from Marcia Clark's overconfidence to media bias played a role in O.J. Simpson's acquittal in 1995 for the murders of Simpson's wife and her.friend. Darden. a former Los Angeles assistant district attorney, prosecut ed Simpson along with Clark. He took part in a. panel discussion last week at N.C.'A&T State University that probed the media's role in the Simpson case 10 years after the fact. Chris Darden says media hurt prosecution "The media was an unwanted guest by the prosecution." said Dar den. who complained that media focused too much on innuendo and not enough on the hard facts of the case. Darden also said Clark dropped the ball during jury seiec - Uuii by firing the prosecution's jury consultant. The jury that found ^Simpson not guilty was made up of eight African-Americans, two mixed race people, one white and one HispaMc. Last week's discussion, was part of a three-day conference held by A&T's Institute for Advanced Jour nalism Studies. Events also includ ed a panel discussion featuring African-American White House correspondents. The Simpson talk was moderat ed by Harvard Law School profes sor Charles Ogletree and also fea tured newsman Ed Gordon, who was the first to interview Simpson after the verdict; Dave Gascon, the retired senior chief officer for the Los Angeles Police Department who made the dramatic announce ment on June 17, 1994. that Simp son was a fugitive: Bill Whitaker. CBS' Los Angeles correspondent who covered the Simpson case; and Norma Johnson, who served as a victims rights advocate for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office dur ing the Simpson case. Johnson had objections about the news media. She said the media ignored other people who were vio lently murdered. Johnson also said she believes news coverage is slant ed depending on the race of those involved. See Simpson on A10 Filling up Free Time Photo by Kevin Walker Dara Moss and Jonathan Oakes shared a coloring book last week ai they waited for an event to start at Wake Forest University. Oakes is the son of Bar bee Oakes , the director of Wake's Office of Multicul tural Affairs. Moss is the daughter of actress Kimberly Brooks , who spoke at Wake last week as part of the school's Diversity Days activities. To read more about Diver sity Days, see A3. Black women celebrate one another BY COURTNEY GAILLARD THE CHRONICLE They are former teachers, librarians, volunteers, wives, mothers and sisters. Many of them have touched lives across this community for decades. This past Monday, the Carver School Road Library hosted a group of African-American women for an old-fashioned tea party called "Herstory." There some of the commu nity's wisest women gathered to share their life stories about work and family during a time when blacks were still consid ered second-class citizens. The library_along with Friends of the Carver School Library sponsored the tea. The program fell during this month, which is National Women's History Month, where the nation pays tribute to the sheroes who've made a difference around the country. "The idea just came to me to let these ladies share their stores because there's a wealth of knowledge to be gained from the women who are 75 years and older." said Lois Leggett, Carver School Road Library Branch director who dreamed up ihe idea for (he tea. Leggett sSys she wanted the women to share as many pearls of wisdom as they could for the young women growing up today. "We can learn so much from the women in this com munity,"' said Leggett. "I thought it was fitting to hold this on the first day of spring." Each table was adorne# with a doll and tea sets. Infor mation on tea beauty remedies and tea trivia were available See Tea on A9 Lois Lmggett Sutton Lawrence Sutton, Lawrence ? will get top honors CHRONK'U SIM I Ki POKl A well-known political activist and the head of the city's public housing agency will receive top honors next month at ' The Chronicle's Community Service Awards. Linda Sutton was chosen as Woman of the Year last week for her countless hours of volunteer work with organs izations such as the Black Leadership Roundtable, the NAACP and the Winston Salem Voting Rights Coali tion. J. Reid Lawrence was selected as Man of the Year for his work leading the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem. Committee members cited Sutton's tireless efforts last year to register voters and to turn out the vote. As head of the Winston-Salem Voting Rights Coalition. Sutton was also watchdog for local vot ers. The committee said Lawrence has worked quietly over the years to transform public housing in the city. On his watch, the city has landed two competitive HOPE VI grants and. according to the Department of Housing and ? Urban Development. HAWS is better run today than it has ever been. ng program at United Metropolitan Mission ary Baptist Church will get the Community Service Award. The program has continually churned out a high number of African-American Scouts at a time when black faces in scouting have become few and far between. Bertha Roundtree and Nathan Parrish will both get Human Relations Awards. Roundtree created the Movie goers to foster cross-cultural discussions on relevant issues Set on A9 In Grateful Memory of Our Founders, Florrie S. Russell and Carl H. Russell, Sr. " Growing and Still Dedicated to Serve You Better " Jftussell fflmte rat ffiCgmg Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their Support 822 Carl Russell Ave. (at Martin Luther King I>r.) YVtnston-Saleni.NC 27101 722-3459 Fax (33?) 631-8268 rusfhomebellsouth .not The Only Choice for African-American and Commit*