CHRONICLE
Vol. XXXIII No. 7 THURSDAY, October 12, 2006
ilHE
Former
NORTH CAROLINA ROOM
FORSYTH CTy PUBLIC LIBRARY
660 W 5TH ST *
WINSTON SALEM NC 27101-2755
YfS.
Mikush
makes a
run for
local board
See Page AS
Womble
talks about
Africa with
school kids
-See Pu^e AH
75 cents
c^bra'%
2 f/iti/ss' <
NAACP
frowns
on bond
package
Members say voters
should say "no"
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
As the Nov. 7 election
approaches, the $250 million
school
bond ref
erendum
is becom
ing an
increas
ingly con
tentious
subject.
Just a
week
after the
Ministers
Conference of Winston-Salem
and CHANGE announced their
endorsement of the bond, the
Winston-Salem Branch NAACP
has decided to oppose it.
Chief among, the NAACP's
concerns is that bond money
would be appropriated for
improvements that the organiza
tion feels will not answer the
school system's most important
issues.
"The poor schools are not
meeting the requirements at the
end of the year," commented
Stephen Hairston, the president
of the NAACP Winston-Salem
Branch. "The schools in the poor
communities are just not work
ing, according to the state data,
according to the data from our
own school system."
Hairston says money should
be used to put an end to what he
sees as educational inequality at
inner-city schools. If.passed by
voters, the bond would mainly
pay for new schools and renova
tions. things that Hairston said
won't alleviate the learning gap.
"The reason we are taking
that stand is that we believe that
the school system here is prac
ticing socioeconomic discrimi
See NAACP on All
Hairston
Bible I .f.sson
One oj nation s
best preachers
gets fired up
BYT. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
Newsweek has called the Rev.
James A. Forbes Jr. one of this
era's most well-spoken religious
leaders.
He lived up to that lofty dis
tinction Sunday as he delivered a
spirited sermon before a crowd of
several hundred in the august
sanctuary of Wake Forest
University's Wait Chapel. Forbes
made himself at home behind the
chapel's oversized pulpit, engag
ing the crowd with his bread-and
butter sermon - his take on the
story of the Samaritan woman
who encounters Jesus at Jacob's
Well. Forbes believes the themes
of the scripture - the tensions
between Jews and Samaritans -
are relevant to so many issues
today.
"It is a trick of the enemy to
always have us polarized," said
Forbes, the pastor of New York
City's Riverside, a interdenomina
tional, interracial mega church
that was founded more than 75
years ago by philanthropist John
D. Rockefeller Jr.
The devil was the only
"enemy" that Forbes called out by
name. He hinted at others, includ
ing those who benefit from pitting
See Forbes on Aio Rev. James Forbes holds the audience captive Sunday as he gives his sermon.
Ram
Rooms
PtHHci bv Tndtt Lfltk
Winston-Salem State
University Interim
Chancellor Michelle
Howard-Vita is all smiles
as she prepares to break
ground on the school's
newest dorm,
Foundation Heights.
She is standing next two
WSS V trustee Nigel
Alston and State Rep.
Larry Womhle, a WSSU
alum. To read more
about the new building,
see page BI6.
Bill Gates Sr. pays Bennett a visit
Dad of world's richest person heads
son 's mega foundation
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
GREENSBORO - The
father of the world's richest man
called the lack ot
free, quality educa
tion one of the
nation's greatest fail
ures.
"Public schools
should be an agent of
social justice but too
often they simply
help perpetuate injus
tice." William H.
Gates, Sr. said
Sunday during his
Keynote aaaress at
Bennett College's Founders'
Day Convocation.
He told the crowd that a third
of. those in ninth-grade won't
finish high school. The numbers
are even worse for minorities
with about half of African
Americans not graduating from
high school, he said. Gates
added that the struggle for a bet
Bennett College Photo
William H. Gales, Sr. addresses Bennett students and staffers.
ter education is a continuation of
the Civil Rights struggle. He
cited Mississippi civil rights
activist Bob Moses who com
pared the importance of trans
forming math educa
tion for African
Americans to winning
the right to vote.
Gates said that the
most successful
schools engage every
student in one-on-one
relationships with
caring adults and that
the Gates Foundation
is working to make
that the norm.
Educational parity
it is among the many problems
that the Bill and Meiinda Gates
Foundation is working to
address. William.H. Gates. Sr. is
the co-chair of the foundation,
which was started by his son.
Bill, and his daughter-in-law.
The foundation operates with a
$31.9 billion .endowment, mak
See Forbes on A 10
Cole
Rep. Parmon to
help to boost
graduation rates
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
The number of North
Carolina students who drop out
of high school before they earn
diplomas has reached near epi
demic proportions.
North Carolina ranks 45th in
tne nation in tne per
cent of ninth graders
who graduate in four
years, in Winston
Salem/Forsyth County
a whopping 10 percent
of high school seniors
dropped out of school
during the 2004-2005
school year.
"Obviously, we are
not doing something
right. We have failed
students that drop out
ot school, said State Rep.
Earline Parmon. "We clearly
need to refocus on what we need
to do to re-engage students in the
educational process, and give
them a desire to want to be in
school and ... prepare them to
have a meaningful life."
The N.C. House of
Representatives recently formed
a committee to further investi
gate the problem statewide,
naming Parmon and Thomas
Wright (D-New Hanover
County) as co-chairs.
"A student who graduates
from high school is
less likely to grow
up and live in pover
ty and has a much
greater chance at a
prosperous and
rewarding future,"
Parmon said. "I'm
hopeful this com
mittee will discover
how to increase
graduation rates
and. by association.
how to improve the lives of the
young people of North
Carolina."
The committee will explore
various contributing factors
involved in the state's shameful
dropout rates. Once armed with
-
In Grateful Memory of Our
Founders,
Florrie S. Russell and
Carl H. Russell, Sr.
"Growing and Still Dedicated to Serve You Better"
JRussell 3futt?ral JHame
Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their Support
822 Carl Kns.st-11 Ave.
(at Martin Luther King Dr.)
Winston-Salem. NC 27101
(336) 722-3459
Fax (336) 631-9268
rusfhomr <S> bellsmi t h .net
See Parmnn on All
6^89076 324 3 91
""?III,