^ J 1 I '0?jly
C: I^lONICLE
ol. XXXIII No. 36 THURSDAY, May 17, 2007
"Apollo"
headed to
Charlotte to
study, run
-See Page til
Supreme
Court
justice in
Winston
- See Page A4
India
festival
comes
to life
See Pagt
11 -year-old handcuffed at school
BY LAY LA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Eleven-year-old Shawn Bennett is
still leeling the effects of an incident
that occurred at his school, Clemmons
Middle, earlier this month, when he
was handcuffed by a school resource
officer.
Shaw n himself was unable to finish
an interview about the incident with
The Chronicle earlier this week, dis
solving into tears when he attempted to
retell his story. His mother, Adrian
Dawkins, related the situation as she
understood it, after speaking with her
son and several school officials.
According to Dawkins, Bennett and
another student went into the boys'
bathroom alter school was dismissed
on W ednesday, May 2. A male teacher
entered the restroom and asked both
boys to leave and they complied uith
his request.
The teacher then noticed that one of
the toilets Has
filled with tis
sue, Dawkins
said. and
accused the
boys of being
responsible for
the mess
"He noticed
that it was toilet
tissue in the toi
Hairston let, so 1 guess he
automatically
assumed that both of them had done it,"
stated Dawkins, who maintains that her
son and the other child had nothing to
do with paper in the toilet.
Hawkins said the teacher then noti
lied another teacher about the incident.
The second teacher insisted on taking
the boys to the principal's office.
Dawkins says that Principal Sandra
Hunter w as busy with the afternoon bus
routine, and was unavailable, so her
son decided to board his bus as usual.
School Resource Officer Sherrill
I nderwood, a Forsyth County
Sheriff's deputy, followed him on the
bus and asked the boy to get off and
speak with Hunter. Maintaining his
innocence, Shawn - who says he was
scared to death at this point - refused to
disembark.
"I told them that I didn't do any
thing and I wouldn't do anything like
that," Shawn said. "I didn't want to get
off the bus because I didn't know what
See Handcuffed on A 12
Mother's (and Son's) Day
The Rev. Stacey Frasier stands in front of the church.
Friendship tries
to move ahead
with new pastor
The Rev. Stacey Frasier is only 30
BY LAY LA FARMER
THE CtlRONlCU
After nearly two years
without a senior pastor.
Friendship Baptist Church has
finally found their man
The Rev.
Stacey Frasier was
voted pastor-elect
by the congrega
tion in early April,
and is slated to be
officially installed
July 29
Frasier has
indeed lifted some
eyehrows mm nis
level of dedication, m?(
as he was licensed
to preach at the ripe old age of
10.
"I knew what the Lord was
calling me to do he said.
"One man once asked ine,
'What's the one thing that you
wou|d do in life that you would
Vlot mind not being paid for?'
and I can honestly say ministry
Every time I step into a pulpit,
I know that I am impacting
somebody and that someNxly
might be myself."
Friendship's former pastor
left, amid considerable turmoil,
in 2005
Deacon Reggie Moore says
it all started over a disagree
ment over who would succeed
the Rev. S.H Tyndall. Church
members insisted that a search
committee be formed, as per
church regulations; others dis
agreed, hence the rift.
'The police were
called, and it was a
big ruckus," Moore
acknowledged. "All
of that was resolved,
and we went through
the proper chan
nels."
Moore had actu
ally known of
? -**? trasier, a
ire Greensboro native,
for some lime, and
described his resume as
"superb"
At 30, 1-rasier has eompJe
mented his obvioufc aptitude for
preaching with we array of
degrees he has apassed. from
the likes of Moorehouse
College, where he studied the
ology as an under grad, while
pastoring Shady Grave Baptist
Church in l'elham, N.C.
"I commuted my second
semester of my senior year at
Moorehouse, from Atlanta to
Greensboro, to Pelham each
See Frasicr on A12
Minnie Bethune,
56, and her son
James Bethune,
2K, both of
Sanford, were
among the 1 ,100
N.C. A&T State
University grad
uates to receive
degrees at the
university's
commencement
Saturday. Both
graduated from
the School Of
Agriculture and
Environmental
Sciences. Mom
received her
degree in child
development and
family studies,
while her son
received his
degree in land
scape architec
ture.
Slavery
'sorry'
is not
enough?
Duke professor
says that money
would be better
BY TODD LUCK
run chronic!.]:
Last month the North
Carolina General Assembly
approved a resolution apolo
gizing for slavery. The resolu
tion came alter Virginia and
Maryland issued apologies for
their roles in slavery. Several
other
states
are
working
on simi
lar reso
lutions.
B u t
many
say an
apology
enough,
ancMhey ~ "5 ;
wanfTaumakers to put public
money where their mouths are
Duke t niversity Professor
William Darity Jr., is among
the loudest voices in a growing
chorus calling for reparations
to be paid to the descendants
of slaves. Darity, who teaches
economics, public policy and
African American studies, has
done extensive research on the
topic. And while he says an
apology is a gtxxl first step, he
thinks more must be done to
right the wrongs of the past.
"I think there is this notion,
that is very wide spread that
the circumstances that con
front African Americans are
due to their own fault, " Darity
said. 'There is some notion,
that is very widespread, that
African-Americans are in
some way " collectively dys
functional."
Reparations for African
Americans could take many
forms, Darity believes,
including direct
See Reparations on A 13
The young, gifted and black are honored
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Attorney Willie E. Gary
made a visit to Winston
Salem last week, to serve as
Key noie
speaker at
t h e
Winston
Lake
Family
YMCA's
I 0 t h
Annual
Black
Achievers
"J
Business
and Industry Awards Gala
Known for his uncanny
ability in taking down the
likes of Walt Disney World
and Anheuser Busch in court
room brawls and conference
room settlements. Clary has
been dubbed "The Giant
Killer," by new'spapers
throughout the nation.
He spoke before a packed
room at the Benton
Convention Center last
Thursday night, where more
than 20 teens and 36 profes
Achievers Chad Armstrong, Courtney Bell, Sliakira Crawford and DeQuinta Dockery.
sionals were honored for their
participation in the Black
Achievers program
"This ii like coming
home for me," said Gary, a
Sha?v I'niversity aldmnus
and graduate of NCCl" I.a?
School. "This is where I gob
my start - nobody else
believed in me Every school
in the state of Florida said I
was not college material, but
thank God for the state of
North Carolina and Shaw
I niversity "
Gary's lively speech
rivaled that of any southern
See Achkvers on A12
In Grateful Memory of Our
Founders,
Florrie S. Russell and
Carl H. Russell, Sr.
"Growing and Still Dedicated to Serve You Better"
Ilugggll Sfmtiral ;figme
Wishes to Thank Everyone For Their Support
822 Carl Kusscll Ave .
Cut Mui-tii? Luther King Dr.)
WinNton-Salcm, NC 2*7101
(336, 722-3459
Fa* (33?) 631-8268
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