Restaurateur Ma' Chris
passes away after illness
BY MESON PITT
THE CHRONICLE
The woman whose mouthwa
tering collard greens, chitterlings
and homemade biscuits fed sev
eral generations of local people
died Monday at Hospice. She
was 85.
Christina Burton, affection
ately known as Ma' Chris, ran
several local restaurants for more
than 50 years. Her best known
eateries - Mama Chris' Soul
Food Cafe and the Starlight Cafe
- were known for their flavorful
menus and wide selection of
down-home favorites. At one
point. Burton, who was bom and
raised in Newberry, SC., had
earned such a following that she
operated two restaurants at once.
"She cooked from scratch;
everything (was) fresh," said
Burnelle Brown, 61, who began
working for Ma' Chris at the age
of 20. "For me... everything I
learned. I learned totally from
her."
The building that housed
Burton's last restaurant is still
standing on the comer of 18th
and Liberty streets.
Never one to use a written
recipe. Burton took many of her
cooks under her angelic wings,
coaching them in a motherly
manner. Her son Willie Rogers of
Oklahoma City, Okla., recalls her
care, not only with food prepara
tion, but people as well.
"When the (needy) didn't
have money for the food, she
gave it to them," he said.
Burton also catered events
around town. Early on, she
catered for Export Tobacco Co.
out of the trunk of her car and
was popular among employees
of all races.
Burton was known for many
dishes, but especially her fatback
meat, corn bread, pinto beans,
rice and stewed meat, barbecue
riftp, oxtails, salmon croquettes,
and all kinds of cobblers. Ma'
Chris' personal favorite was cab
bage and pigs' feet.
I
Ma' Chris at one of her recent birthday celebrations .
Her friends and family
remember her as a straightfor
ward individual who said what
was on her mind.
"She didn't beat around the
bush. She had a strong personali
ty", said her cousin Jeri Moss.
Her grandson Chris Burton
remembers the Christmases at
the cafe when she used to give
the kids 50-cent pieces, whether
they were family or not.
Friends say her spirit was as
memorable as her cooking.
From always identifying people
in the street once she met them,
to beating thieves off for trying to
rob her cafe and home, she was
an unforgettable character.
Burton was an active and
longtime member of Shiloh Bap
tist Church.
"(She) loved people. (She
was) a very outgoing person with
a great personality," said Doris
Hunt, another Shiloh member.
She was the president of sev
eral missions, her most notable
being the Queen Elizabeth Auxil
iary, where she organized women
in the congregation for commu
nity service projects.
A memorial service for
Mama Chris (Christina) Burton
will be held Saturday at I pm. at
Shiloh Baptist Church on 12th
Street and Highland Ave. The
Rev. Paul Lowe will officiate.
Visitation will be from noon to I
pm. The family advises mourn
ers to come early due to the
amount of people who are
expected to attend the funeral.
Alumni
from pa fie A I
five years. The student popula
tion has grown by about 70
percent since 2000, when
Chancellor Harold Martin
came on board. The school has
kept up with the growth with
new buildings, programs, ini
tiatives and increased faculty
might. "
It has paid off. For four
straight years, U.S. News and
World Report Magazine
ranked the school No. 1 on its
list of the Top Public Southern
Comprehensive Colleges
(Bachelor's Category). This
year, though. WSSU fell to No.
2 on the list. Martin believes,
in part, the slip occurred
because the University of
South Carolina-Aiken, which
took over the top spot, has a
higher rate of alumni giving
than WSSU.
But WSSU Rams are con
tributing more to the school
than ever before. Officials esti
mate that there? are about
12,200 living WSSU alumni.
In 2000, only 3 percent of
them made financial contribu
tions to the school. That per
centage has risen over the
years. By the end of the capital
campaign, the percentage
should be at least 12 percent.
Many of the alumni who
spoke at the kickoff - which
was held beneath a large white
canopy in front of the student
union - came close to accusing
alums who do not give back of
something close 10 treason.
Joseph D. Johnson, a 1973
graduate, told alumni to
remember WSSU when they
get into their luxury cars and
walk into their swank homes.
"You did not get that all by
Photos by Kevin Walker
Famed attor
ney Joseph D.
Johnson , a
1973 gradu
ate of Win
ston - S a le m
State, encour
ages his fel
low alums to
give to the
school.
??
Alumni \mij
|Capita< Caw*l
$A.89<> m'tttiorm
t SA .600 .000 "
I SA ,200 .000
I $800,000
1*400,000
Chacellor Harold Martin helps unveil the campaign goal sign
as Catherine Hart applauds.
yourself," said Johnson, a
Kansas attorney considered
one of the best in the nation.
Johnson said he owes his
success to Winston-Salem
State. Johnson, who grew up
dirt poor in a home without
indoor plumbing, became the
first person in his family to
attend college.
"This institution embraced
a poor kid like me," he said.
In pure lawyer style, John
son argued during the kickoff
that every WSSU alum should
give $100 for every year since
his or her graduation. He start
ed the ball rolling with $3,200
of his money for the 32 years
since his graduation. He then
took the mic around to several
people in the audience so that
they too could announce their
commitments.
Hart knows that not every
alumnus is in a position to give
$3,200. But she thinks every
body can give something. Her
hope is that alumni surpass
their goal and that alumni sup
port will continue, even when
the capital campaign ceases.
"We need to lead by exam
ple," she said.
Hie Photo
Performers pro
par e to hit the
stage during the
2003 Fiesta. This
year's Hispanic
cultural celebra
tion will be held
on Saturday as
part of Race
Equality Week.
Forums and awards banquet
highlight Race Equality Week
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The annual Human Rela
tions Awards Banquet and a
series of forums exploring reli
gious, ethnic and racial relations
will be held this month to help
citizens learn, discuss and expe
rience other cultures during
Race Equality Week, Sept. 26
30.
The banquet will feature
Charlie Richman, a professor of
psychology at Wake Forest Uni
versity, and student human rela
tions award winners in the Win
ston-Salem/Forsyth County
Schools. The banquet will be
held Sept. 29 from 6:30 - 8 p.m.
at the Benton Convention Cen
ter. Tickets cost $25 and are
available by calling 727-2429.
Other events to celebrate
Race Equality Week, all spon
sored or co-sponsored by the
Winston-Salem Human Rela
tions Department, include:
? "Islamic Identity and Cul
tural Imagination: The example
of Nigeria and Senegal," Friday,
Sept. 23, at 11 a.m. in the
Williams Auditorium at Win
ston-Salem State University,
featuring Cheikh Anta Babou,
professor of history at Pennsyl
vania State University.
? Fiesta Hispanic Festival,
Saturday, Sept. 24, noon to 7
p.m. in downtown Winston
Salem.
? A peaceful march from the
intersection of Waughtown
Street and Old Lexington Road
to the Community Mosque,
noon on Sept. 24, followed by
lectures and singing at
Reynolds Park Recreation Cen
ter, 2450 Reynolds Park Road.
Free African food and drinks
will be served.
? Student Race Relations
Forum, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 6 to 8
p.m. at Parkland High School.
Students from Winston
Salem/Forsyth County high
schools will discuss their per.
spectives on the state of racial
relations.
? African-American/Hispan
ic Race Relations Forum, Fri
day, Sept. 30, 6 to 7:30 p.m. at
Southside Baptist Church, 401
E. Sprague St. Leaders of the
African-American and Hispanic
communities will discuss cur
rent events that affect their
respective communities.
For more information or to
learn more about the Human
Relations Department, call 727
2429.
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