Judge Wynn to keynote NAACP banquet
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
The Winston-Salem/
Forsyth County Branch of the
NAACP will hold its Annual
Freedom Fund Banquet on
Friday, April 29 beginning at
6:30 p.m. at the Benton
Convention Center. The
theme for this year is
"Forward Together, Not One
Step Back."
Proceeds from the event
will go to provide scholar
ships to deserving students
and to offer various programs
that educate, uplift, and make the com
munity a better place to live.
Judge James Andrew Wynn Jr. will
?ive the keynote address. Wynn is a
member of the U.S. Fourth Circuit
Court ot Appeals. President
Obama nominated him to
the Court on Nov. 4, 2009,
along with another North
Carolinian, Albert Diaz.
Their nominations were
jointly endorsed by U.S.
Senators Kay Hagan, a
Democrat , and Richard Burr,
a Republican. They were
confirmed by the U.S.
Senate last year by unani
mous consent.
Wynn, who formerly sat
on both the North Carolina Court of
Appeals and the North Carolina
Supreme Court, holds degrees from the
Judge Wynn
University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill (B.A., Journalism, 1975);
Marquette University Law School
(J.D., 1979); and University of
Virginia School of Law (L.L.M.,
Judicial Process, 1995).
He served in the active and reserve
Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG)
of the United States Navy until retiring
in August 2009. After completing his
active duty service in the Navy, Wynn
practiced law.
For more information on sponsor
ships or tickets, contact the Branch
office at 767-3470. President S. Wayne
Patterson at 995-3072 or Freedom Fund
Chairman Isaac Howard at 287-4861 .
Gangs
from pugeAl
nizing the signs of gang
affiliation.
"Everything we do
around this subject is about
embracing our young peo
ple," said Gang Prevention
Specialist Solomon Quick
of the Winston-Salem Police
Department, the visionary
for the week. "Not just
those who are under 18, but
those who are 18-24, which
is the largest group of gang
members."
Merrill warned those
present that some things that
appear to be fashion trends,
such as wearing rosary neck
laces and even lacing sneak
ers a certain way, can be
indicators that a young per
son is involved in a gang.
"It's hard sometimes to
tell what's gang related and
what's a playful sense of
style," he said. don t
want anybody to panic. I nri
just telling you the facts of
the situation."
But being able to recog
nize the signs, and accepting
the reality that their children
could in fact be willingly
involved, is the first step in
addressing the problem, he
said.
'The way to really defend
these kids against gangs is
not assume that they don t
know what they're doing."
he said. "If we let them get
by with it, it's going to hurt
them more in the long run.
City native Gail
Henderson called the presen
tation "informative and
depressing at the same
time."
"There were a lot of dis
creet things that probably
would've slipped past me,
said Henderson, an Ardmore
member who attended out of
concern for her nieces and
nephews.
rlMto by Layla Farmer
From left: Patrick Merrill, Sabrina Gist and her father, Johnny X.
"I believe in being edu
cated at any opportunity that
comes up," she related.
"My father brought us up to
believe that was the one
thing nobody could take
away from you."
Ty Talton, the associate
pastor at Ardmore for the last
24 years, said Ardmore,
which was also slated to host
April 7 Gang Awareness
Week events, was glad to
play a role in raising aware
ness about the problem.
"We feel like it's impor
tant for people to know that
there are gangs in Winston
Salem at work," said Talton.
"We sometimes think that's
in other places, so we want
to help people be aware of
that."
The church was one of
several edifices in the
Ardmore area that were tar
geted by gang-related grafitti
several years ago, Talton
said.
"It was sad and it was
tragic to see that they would
do that, even to a church,"
commented the Orlando, Fla
native.
Johnny X and his daugh
ter, Sabrina Gist, both work
closely with young people,
X is an educator at Carter G.
Woodson School of
Challenge, and Gist and a
manager at a local Cook -Out
franchise. Both said they
have seen some of the signs
of gang affiliation Merrill
highlighted exhibited by the
young people they work
with. X said he planned to
talk to his students directly.
The two say they are work
ing to create better outcomes
for ex offenders and gang
affiliated youth through their
community-centered pro
gram, 1 CARE (Individuals
Caring About Rehabilitation
and Education).
"We're going to build a
movement," said X, a mas
ter's level student and ex
offender. "...Everywhere we
go, we're teaching it right
now."
Knowledge and action are
some of the most powerful
tools community members
can wield against the gang
problem on the local level
and nationwide, Merrill said.
"Immorality is an epi
demic in America," he
declared. "If we don't teach
our children, we're going to
lose our children.
Begins June 20
Grades K-6
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