Cherokee students get college
experience during visit to Wake
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHKONK I (
Iwenty-live students
trom the Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians - a tribe
based in North Carolina -
ended a tour of colleges this
week with a visit to Wake
Forest University.
The six -week tour took
C herokee high school stu
dents to 19 colleges in North
C arrilina and Tennessee
I he students simply toured
most ol the colleges' cam*
puses, but their trip to Wake
Forest was a bit different.
I hey spent four days on the
WFU campus, occupying
their time with seminars on
college admission, career
planning and lessons in sci
entilic problem-solving and
American Indian history.
"(The goal is) to get
them excited about college
and to Have them develop
the stamina and know-how
to really make it in college
and to go to any college they
really want to" said Ulrik'e
Wiethaus, Wake's director of
religion and public engage*
rnent. and one of the pro
gram's organizers.
In alt, 15 Wake faculty
members contributed to the
project. This is the second
year the student's college
tour has ended with an edu
cational program at Wake
Forest'. On Monday, students
look part in a three-hour ses-"
Moh that largely focused on'
Internet research. It. was led
by WFU Instructional
Technologist- Beth Boyd.
Groups of students were
charged w ith using informa
tion Irom the Internet to cre
ate an informational poster
presentation about a
American Indian role model.
Monday also included
lunch with current Wake stu
dents. including members of
the campus' Native
American Student
Organization (NASO).
NASO President Lucretia
Hicks, a Wake Forest senior
who is also a Cherokee, said
she hoped to set a good
Photos by Tndd Luc k
Heth Hovd leads a lesson on Monday.
I ; T a 1
Sic Garcia
example for the students.
"I want, them to look at
me as a role model ... cause
I'm here and I'm making it.
so they can look at nie and
see they can do the same
thing." said Hicks.
Although the number of
American Indians attending
college has risen steadily
over the last 30 years,
according to the American
Indian College Fund
(AICF), there is still much
room for improvement.
Many believe that education
is the only way for American
Indians to change their for
tunes - literally. According
to the AICF. nearly 30 per
cent of American Indians
Luc ret ia Hicks
live below the poverty line,
that is more than double the
national poverty rate.
. Tina Saunooke, an
Eastern Band student coor
dinator, said that higher
learning is a priority of the
Eastern Band. The tribe
often covers college expens
es for its members who don't
earn scholarships. Cherokee
students are chosen for the
college tour from schools in
the tribe's five county area.
This is the fourth year of the
college tour. Saunooke said
thyt over 65 percent of par
ticipants in the program end
up going to college.
This was Nic Garcia's
second time on the tour. The
Ulrike Wielhaus
17-year-old., senior at
Cherokee High School in
Cherokee. N.C.. said the
program really helped him
get more comfortable with
the sometimes intimidating
idea of going off to college.
"It opens up a lot of
opportunities." he said. "It
shows what we need to
expect after we graduate
from high school; it shows
us sort of what college life
will be like,"
Garcia is thinking about
attending High Point
University and double
majoring in civil engineer
ing and architecture.
Lewis
from ppge A 1
possible."
While he recognizes that
his bid has sensational appeal
because of his ethnicity,
Lewis says he wants the pub
lic to focus on his vision, not
his color.
"I'm aware of the historic
nature of this race, but I m
noinc to focus on presenting
my life experiences." said
Lewis, a business lawyer who
lives in Chapel Hill with his
wife. Holly, and the couple's
three children. "...The reason
I'm running for Senate is that
1 want to ensure that all North
Carolinians have the same
opportunities to express them- '
selves at the highest and most
productive level.
While a student at
Harvard Law School. Lewis
worked with First Lady
Michelle Obama. He volun
teered on President Barack
Obama's 2004 Senatorial
campaign and again for his
bid for the White House in
2008. Lewis travelled across
the state to drum" up support
for the then-Presidential
hopeful. The experience
made an impression on him.
Lewis said.
"His victory was inspir
ing ... it made me think more
deeply about my own experi
ence and how 1 could best use
that to serve the people of
North Carolina and the coun
try." he remarked. "... and 1
think the experience of get
ting to know North
Carolinians throughout the
state was helpful.
Lewis' caimpaign has hit
the ground running.
"We've gotten off to a
tremendous start: we ve
raised over $109,000 in 20
days," he reported. "...Our
message of providing broader
opportunities tor people and
coing to Washington to work
on behalf of the people has
resonated with citizens
An alumnus of Duke
University. Lewis says mak
inu educational opportunities
available to all students,
regardless of their parents
socio-economic or education
al backgrounds, will be one ol
File Photo
Harvey Gantl tried twice to win in North Carolina.
The late Rev. Henry Lewis.
his chief objectives.
"I'm going to focus on ...
making sure that we expand
opportunities." he said. "The
way that I was able to succeed
was because educational
opportunities were provided
for me."
Educational reform is key
in helping the state progress
in tough economic times,
Lewis believes.
"We're going to have to
build a new prosperity and it
is my belief that the way we
do that is to invest in the kinds
of things that make people
productive," he declared.
Creating what he calls a
"smart government" is also an
important component in help
ing the state and the nation
dig out of the challenges they
face, Lewis said.
"Smart government can
not solve all the problems, but
it can provide incentives for
private businesses and non
profits to find their own solu
tions," he commented.
The last serious black can
didate for a North Carolina
U.S. Senate seat was former
Charlotte mayor Harvey
Gantt. The Democrat twice
lost to Jesse Helms, although
many considered him the
more capable leader. Gantt
endured a barrage of political
advertisements from the
Helms camp, many of which
were racially-charged and
designed to be divisive.
Forsyth Democrats Chair
Fleming El-Amin remembers
the Gantt campaign well.
"I'm very familiar with
what Harvey Gantt tried to do
in his campaign against Jesse
Helms, and how ugly that
got," he related. "I'm hoping
now we'll have a more civil
(Senatorial) race.''
El-Amin believes that
Lewis-combination of busi
ness and human service expe
rience may be the perfect
cocktail for success.
"A big asset Kenneth has
is his newness and his experi
ence in the corporate (sec
tor)," he said. "... I think
Kenneth has an excellent
chance (of winning)."
Lewis will likely have a
tough Democratic primary
before he will get an opportu
nity to face a Republican.
Attorney General Roy Cooper
was seen as the most likely
Democrat to challenge Burr,
but since Cooper announced
earlier this year that he will
not run. the field is wide open.
N.C. Secretary of State Elaine
Marshall and even Winston
Salem attorney and war hero
Cal Cunningham are being
talked about.
For more ? mfotmation
about the Lewis campaign,
v i s i t
www.kennethlewisforsenlate.c
i in
Democrats will
honor Henry Frye
sftciAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The North Carolina
Democratic Part> will honor
Justice Henry Frye at the
Sanford Hunt Dinner on
Saturday. Aug. 29. The event
will be held during
the party's Executive
Committee meeting
in Charlotte.
" I'm proud to add
Justice Frye's name
to this event," said
Gov. Jim Hunt. "It is
a privilege for me to
share this recognition
with two great men
like Justice Henry
Frye and Gov. Terry
Santord. Their service shone
as a bright light into the dark
corners of our society and
stood as a beacon to all those
who wanted to improve our
communities."
Frye became in 1968 the
first African- American elected
to the state legislature in the
20th century. Sefvfng in the
Houw from 1464 to 1^80 and
Fryt
in the Senate from 1981 to
1982, Frye introduced legisla
tion banning literacy tests as a
requirement for voter registra
tion.
He continued his efforts to
expand opportunities for
African-Americans in
business and public
service by co-found
ing the Greensboro
National Bank, the
Legislative Black
Caucus, and the
Caucus' scholarship
foundation.
Frye was appoint
ed as an associate jus
tice on the North
Carolina Supreme
Court by Gov. Hunt in 1983,
becoming the first African
American to serve on the
court. In 1999, Justice Frye
became the first African
American to hold the highest
post in the Court, serving as its
Chief Justice until 2001 . He is
currently an attorney at Brooks
Pierce LaW Firm in
Greensboro.
Council
from page AT
more young people involved
in the process, because we're
not the future; we're the
present." . .
Fostering economic
growth by creating a small
business incubator.; reducing
crime; and bridging the gap
between the older and
younger generations in the
ward are among
Montgomery's chief objec
tives.
Hairston, 65, a Winston
Salem native, is making his
second bid for the seat, after
soundly loosing to Johnson
in the primary four years
ago. He said his desire to run
stems from a growing dissat
isfaction with some of the
city's business decisions.
An outspoken adversary of
the city's recent proposal to
swap a piece of land it owns
on Waterworks Road with
one Goler Memorial AME
Zion Church owns (a pro
posal that has been struck
down), and the stalled down
town baseball park, Hairston
says he feels his voice and
those of others have not been
adequately heard by Council
members.
"To tell you the truth, I
really didn't want to run," he
said "but my choice was, if
you're not going to run. just
sit down and shut up."
A retired manager for
Lucent Technologies,
Hairston says creating more
recreational areas and
enhancing the existing ones
in the ward will be a priority
for him.
"When you pay your
taxes, some of it should
come back to your neighbor
hood and you should be able
to identify it," he said.
Hairston, who has
chaired the African
American Caucus of the
Democratic Party for several
years, also believes East
Winston needs an economic
boost. He thinks enticing a
large business like Wal-mart
or Sam's Club would be the
best way to foster growth.
"There needs to be devel
opment because those are the
kinds of events that anchor a
neighborhood," he
remarked. "Around an
anchor like (Walmart) you
find a lot of small business
es."
In the Northeast Ward,
the longest sitting City
Council member in Winston
Salem history will have her
share of competition as well.
Democrats Sam Davis, pub
lisher of the Triad Sports
Weekly, and Entrepreneur
Claudia Schivers both have
their eyes on Mayor Pro
Tempore Vivian Burke's
seat.
Davis, 51, a Winston
Salem native, has challenged
Burke in the past . A former
educator and coach, Davis
believes his rapport with
young people in the area
may tip the scales in his
favor this time around.
"My key is my connec
tion to the community," said
Davis, who has coached in
various sports settings across
the city, including Pop
Warner and Little League
squads. "I've always lived in
Egst Winston, taking pride in
trying to better my commu
nity. I'm a part of the com
munity. and I believe in the
community... I think that I
will be able to represent the
interests of the people in this
ward (well)."
If elected. Davis says he
will focus on implementing
programs for youngsters to
help them stay out of trouble
and gain skills and interests
that will serve them later in
life. He also wants more
emphasis on what he refers
to as "economic reciprocity,''
meaning that money made
by companies in the ward
will be invested back in the
community in some manner.
Shivers, a 34-year-old
mother of five,- has owned
her own accounting and tax
service for the past decade.
She is an active volunteer
with the ECHO (Everyone
Can Help Out) Council, and
says it was th^at affiliation
that made her 'interested in
running for the seat.
"I've been doing a lot of
work in the community,
especially with the ECHO
Council," she related. "I
think as a City Council offi
cial, I would be able to
enhance that (even more)."
If elected. Shivers says
she would focus on bolster
ing programming for youth
and increasing development
opportunities in parts of the
ward where new construc
tion is lacking.
"Ms. Burke does a great
job bringing in resources,
but there are other resources
that are virtually untapped."
she said.
Encouraging conversa
tion about the educational
system is also a plan of hers,
Shivers says.
"It's difficult to find
quality education choices,"
she related. "At this point,
that's one of the weaknesses
(of the ward)."
Burke, who joined the
Council in 1977, says her
record of service will speak
for itself.
"I believe that anyone
can talk, but you must
show," she said. "That is my
philosophy."
Among her . proudest
accomplishments is the
development that has taken
place over the last decade in
the northern portion of the
ward, a bustling area now
home to many businesses,
including Wal-mart and
Lowes Foods. In addition,
several parks have been cre
ated on her watch. Burke
says, including the Crawford
and Helen Nichols facilities.
More recently, Burke
says she spearheaded the
effort to create TheMIX, a
special program for teens
ages 13-16 held weekly at
Hanes Hosiery and Miller
Park recreation centers.
Burke believes her strong
voice and positive attitude
are two main reasons that
she has been elected so many
times
"One of the things that
has kept me moving in the
right direction is that I have
an open mind, and I believe
in a positive atmosphere and
that everybody has some
thing to offer." she said,
"...and I don't take anything
for granted. I (always) work
just like I've just been elect
ed."